


The Beloved Turnabout

by SaraJaye, Sorakh28



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Anime), 逆転裁判 | Gyakuten Saiban | Ace Attorney
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Ash's dad is alive, Attempted Murder, Case Fic, Clay Terran Lives, Crossover, F/F, F/M, Family Feels, Friends to Lovers, Friendship, Gen, Hospitals, Investigations, M/M, Medical Professionals, Mystery, Not AA6 compliant but still mentions things introduced in it, Post-Gyakuten Saiban 5 | Dual Destinies, Red and Ash are cousins, cinnamon rolls everywhere, this is self-indulgent as fuck, violence against a child
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-09-20
Updated: 2018-01-26
Packaged: 2019-01-01 02:07:33
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 11
Words: 31,237
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12146331
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SaraJaye/pseuds/SaraJaye, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sorakh28/pseuds/Sorakh28
Summary: Ash Ketchum was brutally beaten, almost to death. Misty's been accused of the crime. Phoenix and his team must clear her name and find the real culprits, while easing the hearts and minds of those closest to the defendant and the victim.





	1. A Night Grows Darker

**Author's Note:**

> FIRST OFF, this is definitely one of _the_ most self-indulgent things I've ever co-written. Basically, we put the kind of stuff we've RPed for years into fic format! Hurt/comfort, whump, and cinnamon rolls are in full supply here, folks, and loads of headcanons.
> 
> This also explores the idea "what if the WAA took on a case where for once, _everyone_ believed in the defendant, and the trial was mostly to uncover the real culprit?"
> 
> FINALLY, all apologies to a certain author who I hear has chilled out a ton over the years. You may recognize certain things as you go along, and...yeah. The fic is ancient, but some things you can't unread and unsee. We mean the author no harm.

**_October 8th, 2028  
_** **_9:17pm  
_ ** ******_Arbor Forest_**

 

“Misty, Gym Leader of Cerulean City?”

She barely heard the voice addressing her. In the darkness, red dripped from her fingers; her heart was racing and she wasn’t sure if the pounding in her ears was its beat or the footsteps coming closer and closer.

“It’s all over her fingers.” A hand gripped each of her arms, pulling her to her feet. “You’re coming with us. We need to ask you a few questions.”

 _No, no…_ She tried to cry out but only a whimper escaped her throat, her eyes never leaving the pale hand lying limp on the ground as the police led her away.

_How did this even happen…?_

 

 **_October 8th, 2028  
_** **_9:20pm  
_ ** ******_Olivine City_**

 

The dropped Pokégear clattered on the floor as a youth edged away from it, his breath growing louder as he stared at the object. A Pikachu blinked before jumping into his arms.

“No, no no no no no!” he repeated, his voice choked, as he brought the Pikachu closer to him. “This can’t be real, this can’t be…”

A Charizard, as if hearing that voice, came out of his Pokéball without any warning, then embraced the shivering trainer and the Pikachu. The Charizard gently growled, rubbing his cheek against the youth’s, making his cap drop to the floor as well. The young teenager closed red-colored eyes.

_There has been an accident with Ash, Red. He’s been taken to a hospital in bad shape._

 

 **_October 8th, 2028  
_** **_9:56pm_ **

 

“Come on, Pidgeot, we’ve got no time to lose!”  
  
Clutching a yellow and green pendant close to his beating heart, another young trainer held for dear life on his Pidgeot flying towards Olivine City. His mind raced back at his conversation with Professor Oak not long ago.

_Gary, I’ve just received horrible news from Olivine’s Gym Leader, Jasmine. Ash has just been found violently attacked in Arbor Forest, and is in the hospital’s intensive care._

He was still trying to wrap his head around this. He had thought that surely, this was a joke of some sort, but since Gramps would never joke about Ash this way… It just had to be true.

He wanted to go back in time and punch the Gary Oak that wrote that message on the sign towards Cerulean City.

 

 **_October 8th, 2028_  
** **_9:56pm_  
** **_Pallet Town_ **

 

The hospital. Her little boy was in the _hospital_ and she couldn’t be with him. She didn’t have any flying-type Pokémon, the bus and the train would take forever, her little boy was in _intensive care_ and she was millions of miles away.

 _It’s best not to act rashly, anyway. You wouldn’t do him any good showing up in a panic_ , Professor Oak had said, and she knew he was right, but it didn’t ease her fears one bit. _Ash, my little Ash, how could this have happened?_

Wiping away the tears already starting to fall, she groped for the phone and dialed a certain number with shaking fingers.

“Hello?” The familiar voice both soothed her and brought on a fresh burst of tears.

“Mark,” she sobbed, “it’s _Ash…_ ”

“Delia? Delia, you’re crying, what happened?” Delia swallowed, taking several deep breaths.

“He’s been _attacked_ , Mark. He’s...he’s in the hospital. Intensive care…”

When she turned on the video screen, he’d buried his face in his hand but she could see the tears leaking from between his fingers.

“My… My little Charmander…”

 

 **_October 11th, 2028  
_** **_9:30am  
_ ** ******_Wright Anything Agency_**

 

{Trucy seems to be excited.}

Phoenix Wright looked up from his computer to the Gallade next to him, then got up from his desk to check out the window, where his daughter was running towards the Wright Anything Agency office. “I keep on forgetting you can sense her presence from _that_ far away,” he realized. “Wonder what’s gotten into her?”

{Beats me,} the Gallade replied. {Probably something girls her age are interested in, if I’d have to wager a guess.}

Trucy almost slammed the door opened. “Dad! You’ll never guess who’s the front page of _Johto Weekly_!”

“Your future boyfriend?” Phoenix suggested with a smirk. Trucy and her Mime Jr. proceeded to stare at him with the same glaring grimace.

“ _No_ , Dad,” she sighed, “I don’t think he’d be interested in dating a magician, anyway.” She then looked about the office. “By the way, where’s Apollo and Athena?”

{Apollo’s with Clay, and Athena’s on the coffee run,} the Gallade mentioned. He crossed his arms, tapping a finger against his arm. {So, who’s this ‘he’ you mention with _Johto Weekly_ , anyway? A famous trainer?}

She pulled out the magazine from her bookbag with a ‘ta-da’. “It’s Red Ketchum! The _very_ first interview he gave since he became the Kanto Champion! Which was like, two, three years ago? Anyway, they managed to catch him at the base of Mount Silver _and_ got an interview outta him!”

Phoenix looked over the cover- usually, _Johto Weekly_ ’s cover tended to be flashy with their front cover, but this time they went for a more solemn design. Taken inside what seems to be a log cabin, the young Champion was sitting at a table, seemingly staring at nothing. Even the typical blurbs on the cover used more elegant fonts. The angle of the photo helped emphasis both Red’s youth and his strength as Kanto Champion.

 _Ketchum_ … that name was familiar for some reason. “Wasn’t there another Ketchum who was in the Indigo League conference some time ago?”

“Oh, yeah, that’s Red’s cousin!” Tracy opened the magazine towards Red’s article, then presented it to her father, pointing at a photo of Red and another boy who could mistakenly be seen as Red’s twin brother. “His name’s Ash, and he was Top 16 in the Indigo Conference, and managed to win the entire Orange League!”

{You _sure_ that’s not his twin?} the Gallade couldn’t help but ask, frowning as he took a closer look to the photo.  
  
{Nope!} the Mime Jr. replied. {They’re about a year apart, apparently. And that photo doesn’t make their differences in looks that obvious, either. Next page has a better photo of those two, I think.}

Sure enough, after flipping the page, another, _larger_ photo of the cousins was featured. This time, however, they weren’t alone- Red was sandwiched by Ash on his right, and a girl on the left.

{Now, that girl? _That’s_ Red’s twin, Leaf Ketchum,} Mime Jr. explained. {She’s not part of the battle circuit like the boys, thought. She’s been working with different organizations like the Pokémon Rangers at the same time her brother went through his journey, or so it says.}

{Aha, I see it now. She has the same eyes as him,} Gallade noted. They were fraternal twins, the article said, but even if Leaf’s resemblance to her brother wasn’t as strong as Ash’s, it was very much there. {So, what kept Red on Mount Silver so long? I’ve heard that’s one of the more difficult areas to train, and so far from civilization, too.} He remembered when his trainer’s close friend (or so Phoenix called it, even though Gallade knew it was more than that) had disappeared for months several years back, one of Phoenix’s worries was that Mr. Edgeworth had gone to Mount Silver. Luckily, he’d been in Kalos the whole time.

{Training, the article says,} Mime Jr. said. {After becoming Champion, Red wanted to see what else was out there and test himself further. There’s also a little jab on him waiting for a phone call, hoping for someone to take on the Champion mantle- but no one managed to defeat the Elite Four.} Mime Jr. paused for a moment. {Sounds like he’s not happy being the Champion.}

Phoenix frowned. “He was only eleven when he became Champion, right? That’s a lot of responsibility for a kid. He’s obviously glossing over it, but he might’ve also went to Mount Silver to avoid any stress that could cause him harm in the long run.”

{That does make sense,} Gallade noted, before looking up to the office door. {Oh, seems like Athena’s back with the coffee!}

“Hi! Sorry I’m a little late, but I kinda ran into Simon.” Athena set down the cardboard holder. “I also got a cup for Apollo if he wants one when he gets back...I’d have gotten one for Clay, too, but he has yet to tell me how he likes his.” Phoenix chuckled.

“So thoughtful! How is Prosecutor Blackquill, anyway?”

“Still getting used to life on the outside, but he’s planning to meet with Gym Leader Falkner next week. He needs a little something to do outside court, and one of the Violet Gym’s trainers is leaving to get married,” Athena said. “I’m glad, too...I worried about Simon every day while he was in prison.”

“You’re not the only one. I’ll have to let Edgeworth know his former protégé’s moving forward better than expected.” Phoenix smiled, taking the coffee marked “PW” in red sharpie on the lid.

“So, what were you guys talking about, anyway?” Athena asked, taking her mocha.

{Red Ketchum’s interview,} Gallade answered. {I don’t think anyone expected the Kanto Champion to be so down to earth and so close to his family. Just reading about his thoughts on his cousin Ash, you can really feel the love Red has for him.}

“Wait, did you said both Ketchum and Ash?”

Trucy blinked. “Yeah, he did. Why?”

Athena blanched. “Oh. Because the news reported that a kid named Ash Ketchum was brought to Olivine Hospital’s emergency room three days ago from Arbor Forest.” She took a sip of her drink before picking up that morning’s newspaper. “They were playing the live report on TV at Starlybucks while I was waiting. Cerulean City Gym Leader Misty’s been accused of beating him so hard he nearly died.” Phoenix nearly spit out his coffee.

“Misty?! But isn’t she his friend?”

“She and the Pewter City Gym Leader,” Trucy chimed in. “They’ve been the best of friends since they met Ash two years ago.” She frowned, stirring her drink. “I remember hearing about how Ash and Misty would argue sometimes, and I know Misty’s got kind of a temper, but…”

“But a Gym Leader wouldn’t do something like that, would they? I know there’s all the rumors about the Viridian City leader, but even he never tried to kill anyone,” Athena said. “And Misty’s said to be so passionate about her training, she wouldn’t risk her career.”

At that moment, Apollo walked into the office, followed by a familiar face.

“Mr. Justice said this was where I could find the Wright Anything Agency,” said Brock, the famed Gym Leader. “Are you Phoenix Wright?”

Phoenix nodded, putting his coffee cup down and extending a hand for Brock to shake.

“That’s me, yes.”

“I guess you’ve heard the news by now,” Brock said. A sad, sniffly Pikachu and a scared-looking Togepi sat at his feet, and Mime Jr. immediately ran to the duo to try to comfort them. “I need you to clear Misty’s name. Even if I don’t know who attacked Ash, I know it wasn’t her.”

{Phoenix, should I make it possible for these two Pokémon to be understood?} Gallade requested.

“Yeah, that would be helpful.”

The air in the office suddenly felt heavy for a few seconds, and once it was lifted, every human in the room could hear exactly what the Pikachu was whimpering- his trainer’s name.

{What happened? Why is Mommy gone? Pikachu’s sad and big brother Brock is all alone!} Togepi chimed in. Phoenix saw Athena tense, touching her earring before kneeling down to pet the little egg.

“Your mommy’s safe...she’s just in another place for a while,” Athena tried to explain.

{Ash is in the Pokémon Center for humans,} Pikachu said sadly. {Something attacked him, he wasn’t waking up. They won’t let me go in with him!}

“Human hospitals aren’t safe for Pokémon other than the Chansey line, Audino, and Comfey,” Apollo said. Phoenix saw him look away sadly for a moment, too. _It hasn’t been all that long since the UR-1 trial...if I take Misty’s case, should I let Athena and Apollo sit this one out? They’re still kinda recovering._ But the two younger attorneys turned around to give him a reassuring smile.

“We’re fine!” Athena said. “Brock, can you tell us anything else about the incident? Why did they blame Misty?”

“They found her at the scene,” Brock said. “And you know how the law is here, if you even breathe too near a crime scene everyone thinks you did it.” Apollo shook his head, frowning.

“Even with the dark age of the law over, there’s still a lot of cleanup work left to do, isn’t there?”

“And we can start by taking Misty’s case!” Athena said. Phoenix nodded, smiling.

“We’ll draw straws to see who her official attorney’s going to be, but we’re all a team and there’s no client we haven’t been able to save yet!” _Almost_ , Phoenix thought, remembering Trucy’s biological father. But that had been a long and complicated deal, Zak had been something of a shady character. This was different.

“All four of us!” Trucy said, kneeling down to pat a still-whimpering Pikachu.

{Misty didn’t do it. Misty’s our friend and Ash means a lot to her! Save her, please…!}

“Any word on Ash?” Apollo asked.

“He’s alive,” Brock said, “but in a coma. The doctors say if the paramedics and the police hadn’t arrived when they did…” He clenched his hand into a fist. “It’d have been too late.”

“How bad are his wounds, if he’s in a coma…?” Apollo wondered, thinking back to Clay.

“...That’s where the problem begins,” Brock began. “You probably know that Arbor Forest hosts the Lake of Life, which possesses incredible healing powers. _That_ was where Ash was found.”

{So, in short, we don’t know the severity of his wounds because they’re _already healed_ ,} the Gallade deducted.

Brock nodded to that. “The most the doctors could do was check his brain for any damage, as well as provide the blood transfusions he needed.”

Gallade mimicked the raising of an eyebrow. {Okay, well, if whoever did this were trying to kill Ash, why do it at a lake that heals? That doesn’t make any sense!}

{Whoever did this is as stupid as a drunk guy trying to pick berries from a Sudowoodo,} Mime Jr. grumbled. Trucy nodded, rolling her eyes for a moment before becoming serious.

“Stupid, but still dangerous. I hope we don’t run into them anytime soon!”

“Actually, I had a thought…” Athena toyed with her earring. “Do we know for sure it’s a person? Some of the wild Pokémon can get pretty vicious if they sense anyone nearby, and I know Arbor Forest is a hot spot for Ursarings. So we probably shouldn’t rule that out.”

“We’ll have to see,” Phoenix said. “Right now we know so little. It could’ve been a Ursaring, but it could’ve easily been a person.” He’d never once dealt with a non-human culprit, even if he’d defended a Wailmer and questioned a Chatot.

{Has Ash’s relatives been told about his attack?} the Gallade asked as gently as he possible could.

“His mother has been alerted,” Brock notified, “but I don’t know about the rest of his relatives. Professor Oak was told about this as well, however.”

Apollo frowned. He didn’t wanted to _assume_ something, but... “What about his father?”

Brock paused. “Let me think… I do know he’s still alive, and working in Kalos, but I’m not sure where he is right now. If someone is able to tell him about what happened, it’s probably Mrs. Ketchum herself.” He then spotted a certain magazine. “And no, in case you’re wondering, I don’t know if someone contacted Red- but I did heard he was seen in Olivine earlier today.”

“So where should we start?” Athena asked, toying with her earring. It was a tough call, honestly; while a lawyer’s client must always come first, she knew all too well the pain of a loved one in peril and that the Ketchum family would need as much support as they could get.

“Ash’s mother has yet left Pallet Town, as far as I’m aware,” Brock notified, “and no one knows where exactly Red is in Olivine. That leaves meeting Misty… and asking the doctors for more information on Ash’s condition.”

“Let’s go meet Misty first,” Phoenix said. “The client always comes first, and besides, the doctors could still be working on Ash as we speak.” Apollo nodded.

“If he’s in a coma, they could be running tests for...days, probably.” He frowned. “That’s not good, with Misty’s innocence hanging in the balance.”

“Let’s worry about that after we meet her,” Phoenix said. “The police might be willing to put off a trial for her until Ash is better, in case they need his testimony.” As rare as it was for them to be tackling an attempted murder case rather than a murder, it was even rarer to obtain testimony from a victim.

{We shouldn’t be here,} the Pikachu lamented. {We should be somewhere else, enjoying life, enjoying… enjoying Ash turning twelve.}

“Wait, you mean…” Phoenix turned pale, a brick of ice forming in his stomach. “He was attacked on his birthday?!”

{Just two days before,} Pikachu said. Apollo clenched his fist angrily, while Athena looked almost like she had the day of the UR-1 retrial.

“He was only eleven,” she whispered. “He almost…”

Brock nodded, looking away, but Phoenix was sure Apollo and Athena could sense him near tears.

“He, Misty and I were trying to figure out what to do to celebrate. She’d already made him a present...she’s not much for arts and crafts, but she worked her fingers to the bone on it. She was so excited to give it to him…”

Phoenix didn’t know who he felt worse for at the moment. The boy, nearly killed before he had a chance to celebrate his birthday, or the girl who from Brock’s words seemed especially fond of the boy.

“No kid deserves to have their birthday wrecked like that,” Athena muttered, her look of trauma turning into one of disgust.

“Yeah!” added Trucy, who’d been listening quietly the whole time. “Birthdays, Christmas, Halloween, summer vacation-these things are sacred to children!” Apollo nodded.

“And kids shouldn’t be forced into the detention center, either.” He sighed. “As much as I want to check in on Ash, Misty needs us.”

{Then stop standing around and chatting, and get going!} Mime Jr. said, hopping up onto Trucy’s shoulder. Trucy grinned.

“Mime Jr.’s right! Off to the detention center, you three!”

“And I’m going to the hospital to check in with the doctors,” Brock said. “Tell Misty I’ll be back in to see her later, maybe I’ll try to sneak her in some of my cooking.”

“I’ll hold down the fort,” Trucy said. “I can take care of Pikachu and Togepi, Brock!” Brock smiled, patting her on the shoulder.

“That’d be great, Trucy! See if you can cheer them up a little, your magic always seems to make people smile.” Trucy blushed.

“I’ll give it my best!” Phoenix raised an eyebrow. _I take back what I said about Red earlier, she seems to prefer the rock-type gym leader._ Not that he was particularly okay with it if the rumors of Brock’s constant flirting were true. _He may be a good friend, a good trainer, and a responsible person but no father wants his kid getting their heart broken!_


	2. Storm Over The Ocean

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, just as Sara said, this has to be one of our most self-indulgent fanfics ever, having big influences from our RPs in this. However, I'd also like to thank my buddy Fëanen for providing suggestions that helped develop this fanfic!
> 
> Now, onto the story... Enjoy!

****__**October 11th, 2028**  
**_10:16am  
_ ** ******_Detention Center_**

 

“Oh, good timing, Mr. Wright! I was just about to call you for taking the case.”

“Wh-Detective Gumshoe?!” Phoenix’s eyes widened. “Since when were you the chief?! And why didn’t I see any of you in the last few months?” The scruffy-as-always former detective chuckled, patting him on the shoulder.

“Just got promoted, pal! I’ve been overseas, but mostly I’ve been helping out Mr. Edgeworth as usual.” He grinned. “I always knew my luck had to turn around sometime, and wouldn’t ya know it, it did right after Maggey and I got hitched!” Phoenix smiled, shaking his head. Clearly he’d missed out on a lot in the past eight years.

“Tell me all about it later, Detect-er, Chief Gumshoe. Right now-”

“Yeah, the girl.” Gumshoe sighed. “I tell ya, no one likes having to bust a kid, and she cried the whole time we questioned her. Personally I think she didn’t do it, pal, but you know what they say.”

“Evidence is everything,” Phoenix groaned. “The law’s still got a long way to go.” The jurist system had failed miserably despite being able to convict Kristoph Gavin, people just didn’t feel ready to put the fate of a suspect in their own hands. He also suspected the retirement of annoying-but-harmless Winston Payne followed by his jerk of a brother taking the Prosecutor’s bench had something to do with it.

“Right.” Gumshoe smiled sadly. “Maybe you can turn this around like you always did…” He glanced towards Apollo and Athena. “These your kids?”

“N-no! Chief, you know Trucy’s my only daughter...technically.” He smiled. “But I do think of Apollo and Athena here as my own, too. Apollo’s rising in the ranks fast, and Athena’s still a little green but I know she’ll go just as far. She just needs to believe she can!”

The two younger attorneys introduced themselves to the Chief before he left, and the Cerulean City Gym Leader came to the window. Her face was blotchy, her eyes were puffy, and she looked limp and defeated.

“I guess you’re my lawyer,” she mumbled. “King of the Turnabout, huh?”

“That’s me.” Phoenix kept his expression even. “I haven’t failed a client yet.”

“Well, at least I know I’m in good hands with someone who actually _cares_ about me,” Misty said. “But everyone’s so sure I did it. I’ve barely been in here a day and the rumors are flying about how I _viciously attacked_ Ash, wanted him dead, snapped after one too many insults to my looks.”

“What?! Oh, come on, that’s just ridiculous!” Athena huffed, rolling her eyes. Misty, noticing the other two, suddenly turned pale under the blotches.

“ _How_ many lawyers am I going to _need_ ?!" Misty groaned. "Great Celebi, how much trouble _am_ I in?"

"Actually, I'm the one defending you. Apollo and Athena here are my co-counsel," Phoenix said.

"Oh." Misty bent her head, sighing a little. "I guess that's okay."

"So why are _you_ the main suspect?" Apollo asked. "You don't seem like you're capable of nearly killing a guy..."

"Thanks," Misty muttered. "But that doesn't matter to the police. They found me at the scene of the crime and my fingerprints all over Ash's jacket. And my name-"

"Written in blood?" Athena cut her off, rolling her eyes. "They _always_ do that! It happened to Ms. Byrde...well, _Mrs. Gumshoe_ now, happened to Maya Fey, Detective Skye, Junie...they always write the name in blood and the police always seem to fall for it! It's so cliche!" That actually got a chuckle out of Misty.

"Brock said so, too. He also said it smelled kind of like berry juice...either the cops have allergies or Brock's got a cook's sense of smell, because they didn't go for it." She buried her face in her hands. "It's not fair!”

“It really isn’t,” Phoenix said. “You don’t deserve to be here. Chief Gumshoe doesn’t think you did it, either.”

“It’s not that,” Misty said, sniffling. “I-I mean...of course I’m upset, but...it wouldn’t be so bad if at least I knew…” She hunched forward, her hands pressed to her chest. “Why did it have to be _Ash_ ?!” Beside Phoenix, Athena’s ears stiffened, and Apollo’s eyes widened as his bracelet tightened. _There’s something she isn’t telling us_ , he thought, _and it could be relevant_.

“Is it okay if we ask you a few questions, too, Misty?”

“I guess. I’ll only be able to tell you what I told the cops, but…” She sighed. “I wasn’t even _with_ Ash when it happened. I found him lying there…”

“Was he already unconscious when you found him?” Apollo asked.

She nodded. “And it was obvious he lost a lot of blood, too. Besides what was visible on his clothes, I mean.” She frowned at the memory. “I’ve never seen Ash so _pale_ the entire time I travelled with him.”

“Blood loss…” Athena bit her lip, and Apollo put a hand on her shoulder. “Did you see any marks on him? From a weapon?” Misty tensed slightly for a moment.

“You’re going to think I’m crazy, but...no. Nothing, not even a scratch on him. I...may have even tried to look under his clothing to make sure.” Her cheeks turned almost as red as Apollo’s suit, but Phoenix didn’t even bother to think it was odd. Of course it’d embarrass her, at that age.

“So you don’t know how he got hurt, right?”

“No, I don’t! I didn’t see any marks or bruises or stab wounds, he was just pale as a sheet and out cold,” Misty said, her voice shaking. “I-I had to check for a pulse to make sure he wasn’t dead, and it was so _faint…_ ”

Phoenix hummed before talking. “Since he was in the Lake of Life, that probably meant he was already fully healed of whatever wounds he suffered by the time you found him.”

“Oh, right...I almost forgot about that lake,” Misty sighed. “I guess he fell in after he was attacked, or something.”

“Actually, we can’t help wondering if someone threw him in without realizing what the lake did,” Athena said, rolling her eyes. “Not sure why, maybe they wanted to drown him.”

“Then why would they pull him back out? Unless he swam to the surface with the last of his strength,” Apollo mused. “I mean, people can manage huge feats when they’re desperate.”

“Well…” Misty managed a little smile. “There was the time on Shamouti Island. It was so cold and Ash was almost frozen after falling into the ocean, but he still walked all the way to the shrine so he could put the Ice Sphere where it belonged.”

“Ah, right, that one time the weather went crazy because some jerk tried to capture the legendary bird trio,” Apollo said. “I remember getting a letter from Nahyuta and Dhurke about how it was snowing in Khu’rain, and wishing they’d send some to us.”

“Simon said if he ever finds the guy who tried to take the birds he’ll throw him in the klink with his own hands,” Athena added. “But back to the subject! So Apollo, you think Ash could have pulled himself out of the lake after someone tried to drown him?”

“It makes sense,” Apollo said. Phoenix nodded.

“Of course, there is another theory we have,” he said. “Maybe it wasn’t a person.”

“The forests here are full of wild Ursarings,” Misty said. “They’ve attacked us in the past. And even if they were all asleep, there’s all kinds of huge, icky bugs…” She shuddered. “I don’t even want to think about it!”

“Not a fan of Bug-types, Misty?” Athena asked.

“Don’t even get me started.” Misty hugged herself, shivering again. “I think the only one I’ve ever liked was Ash’s Butterfree…” She frowned. “It wouldn’t surprise me if some big angry Pinsir beat him up and knocked him into the water!”

“It’s definitely a possibility,” Phoenix said. “And we will be looking into it.” _I almost hope that’s the case_ , he thought. _Lesser of two evils and all that_. He almost wanted to end the questioning right there and start the investigation, but past cases had taught him that it was best to cover all of their bases. “Did Ash have any enemies?”

“Well, there’s a pair of Team Rocket agents who chase him around trying to take Pikachu,” Misty said. “But they’re thieves, so…”

“Mr. Wright means more personal enemies,” Apollo said. “Anyone who might want to see him dead or ruined for the sole reason that they hate him.”

“Oh...well, no, none that I can think of,” Misty said. “His old rival Gary Oak used to give him a bad time, but nothing like this. I think the worst he ever did was jab Ash in the chest a few times just to piss him off.”

“We’ve all had our share of rivals like that,” Apollo said with a snort. “Or the ones that constantly sound like they’re hitting on you.”

“Prosecutor Gavin isn’t letting up?” Athena teased. “Maybe you should tell him you already have a boyfriend, I bet he’d back off then.” Apollo blushed brightly, all the way to the tips of his ears.

“ _Athena!_ ”

“Ahem,” Phoenix coughed, rolling his eyes at his proteges. But Misty was smiling, almost giggling.

“That sounds like Gary, too, honestly,” she said. “Is there anything else you wanted to know?”

“I think we’re good for now. We should probably check out the crime scene as soon as possible, before anything gets moved around by wild Pokémon,” Phoenix said. “But we’ll be back to see you later, okay?” Not just for more questions, but because even though she was calmer now he could still sense the anger and the sorrow.

“All right.” Misty smiled a little. “Thank you...I’m glad you’re the one taking my case, Mr. Wright. I’ll find some way to pay you back, I promise.”

“No need for that,” Phoenix said. Even if she was a Gym Leader he didn’t feel right about asking a twelve-year-old girl for money. “Thanks again, Misty.” He stood up, Apollo and Athena following him out of the detention center. They’d need to pick up some supplies before they went to the forest, so their first stop would be the PokéMart.

 

****__**October 11th, 2028**  
**_10:30am  
_ ** ******_Outside the PokéMart_**

 

“This should cover it,” Athena said as she checked everyone’s packs. “So, where exactly is Arbor Forest, anyway?”

“North of Olivine,” Apollo mentioned. “You know, I’ve been wondering… it usually never takes this long between an attempted murder and us taking the case. What could cause the delay?”

Phoenix frowned for a moment. “Must’ve been red tape. The doctors probably weren’t sure if Ash was going to survive at the beginning, and that can cause delays for juridical procedures, among other things. Thought, as to why it took long for Brock to meet with us… that’s something I don’t even understand myself.”

“That’s quite the acute observation, Wright-dono.”

All three lawyers turned to find Simon Blackquill standing nearby, Taka on his shoulder.

“Oh, hey, Simon!” Athena greeted the prosecutor. “What’s bringing you here?”

“I’ve learned from the Chief of Police about the case,” he explained. “What sort of madness involves children in attempted murders?!”

“We’re not sure ourselves,” Phoenix admitted. “From the sound of things, we might have a case with a Pokémon assailant, and that’s a little tricky in law.” Mostly because one could not convict a wild Pokémon, after all.

“Yes, I’ve seen many a wild Ursaring or Pinsir within the area,” Simon mused. Taka let out a screech of agreement. “But if it was a wild Pokémon, the police have arrested Gym Leader Misty for no reason.”

“Misunderstandings happen, I guess,” Athena said. “We’re just about to go investigate, though, why don’t you come with us?” She smiled, and Phoenix could swear the prosecutor almost blushed.

“I suppose so.”

“And don’t forget us!” Phoenix turned around to see Trucy dragging a bewildered Clay by the hand. “Don’t worry, I closed down and locked the office so no one would break in, and I watered Charley.”

“I’m not sure how much help someone like me’s gonna be with this case, but…” Clay smiled. “I’ll do whatever I can!” Apollo’s eyes lit up.

“Don’t worry, Clay, we’ll just be glad to have you along.”

“We should probably split up into teams,” Phoenix said. “The forest is a big place, and there could be more evidence beyond the scene of the crime.” Simon raised an eyebrow.

“The defense is never usually this preparation crazy,” he said, smirking a little. Clay frowned.

“What’s that supposed to mean?! Apollo and his crew are amazing!” Apollo blushed in surprise, and Phoenix raised an eyebrow. By now the Wright Anything Agency was more or less used to people joking about them because their reputation overshadowed the jokes, but Clay was taking it awfully personally. Luckily, Apollo put a hand on his friend’s shoulder to calm him.

“Clay…”

“Sorry. Kneejerk reaction.” Clay rubbed the back of his neck.

“It’s a very special case this time,” Athena said. “The victim, or almost-victim, is a child. We’ve had kid defendants, but no one’s ever tried to _kill_ a kid.”

“It’s a double whammy this time,” Phoenix added. “A kid in the detention center and one in the hospital, with a teenager trying not to freak out.”

“But he’s terrified,” Athena said. “I could sense it in his words when he came to us.”

“And he kept clenching his fist, like he was trying to keep himself calm,” Apollo said. Simon nodded.

“I’ve heard both Gym Leaders are very close to the victim.”

“Not just them,” Trucy noted as she pulled out a certain magazine. “He’s a cousin to _the_ Kanto Champion, who values family over his role. I can’t imagine how devastated he is right now.” Simon’s eyes widened slightly, and Taka gave a screech of concern.

“I take back my earlier jest, Wright-dono. I can see why the three of you have such a vested interest in this case,” Simon said. Apollo’s face became serious as he moved closer to Clay, and Athena glanced towards Simon with solemn eyes. Simon nodded and put a hand on Athena’s shoulder. “So, where shall we-”

“Um...excuse me?” The group turned around to see a familiar face.

“Miss Jasmine? Jasmine of Olivine City Gym?” Apollo blinked. “What brings you here?”

“I, um...heard you were the group representing Misty in court, and...well...I thought you might like to know that the victim’s cousin is currently staying in Olivine City,” Jasmine said. “So...if you wanted to ask him any questions, today is the day.”

“By cousin, you’re referring to Red, right?” Athena asked, with a nod from the Gym Leader being her answer. “Where in Olivine is he right now?”

Jasmine frowned for a second as she checked her Pokégear. “He just messaged me that he’s staying at the Foxglove Inn at the moment. Red’s… known to be the quiet, stoic type, but I’m sure someone like him is bound to be overwhelmed with distress.”

“I’m familiar with that type,” Phoenix said, stroking a certain beat-up old keychain attached to his pack. “We’ll speak to him as soon as the investigation is done, then. Thank you, Jasmine.”

“I’ll tell you anything I know, too, so feel free to drop by the gym if you need me.” Jasmine smiled. “Good luck.”

“Thank you.” Phoenix closed his eyes briefly, then stared straight ahead. They were going to need it.


	3. Exploration and the Mysterious Girl

**_October 11th, 2028_ **  
**_Arbor Forest entrance  
_ _10:45am_**

 

“All right, I’ll take the crime scene itself,” Phoenix said.

“And I’ll explore any other parts of the forest, just in case,” Trucy said. “I don’t think Pikachu wants to see any tape outlines of Ash.” Pikachu nodded, and so did Togepi as he nestled in her arms. “And Polly and Clay can go with me, of course!”

“That’s fine with me,” Apollo said, putting a hand on Clay’s arm. The astronaut’s cheeks went pink for a second, even though he was smiling.

“I wouldn’t mind avoiding the outlines myself.”

“So that leaves me, Athena, and Prosecutor Blackquill,” Phoenix said. Simon looked secretly relieved, and Athena smiled.

“Let’s go, then!”

 

 **_October 11th, 2028_ **  
**_Arbor Forest: Crime Scene  
_ _10:45am_**

 

“Who in the name of the Reverse World made this place a _crime scene_ ?!” a girl’s voice resonated throughout the lake area. “This is sacred ground! I came here all the way from _Almia_ to pay tribute to the guardians of this lake, and it’s a crime scene?!”

Phoenix looked over to the right. The girl, followed by a Banette, was standing in front of Ema Skye, bristling and trying to use her height to intimidate the older woman to no success.

“I’m sorry, Miss,” Ema began, hands in front of her, “but we still don’t know what happened here ourselves. Until everything’s figured out, the Lake’s closed to everyone.”

The girl’s shoulders slumped. “Welp, Marion,” she addressed to the Banette, “guess we’re gonna be delayed for our pilgrimage after all.” She passed her hand through her hair. “Let’s go back to the hotel and play some Jack games, shall we?”

The Banette nodded, and the duo turned around and walked past Phoenix and his crew, not seeming to notice them. Taka glared at the girl intensely, not taking her away from his sight until she was far away.

“Is something wrong, Taka?” Athena asked the Spearow. It simply kept on looking towards the girl and her Banette, not answering the question. “Taka, what is it?”

“Something... _someone_ was here, weren’t they?” Simon asked. Taka screeched a yes, flapping a wing in the direction the girl had gone. “Ah, you want us to follow them?”

“Oh, I think Audino could help with this! Come out, girl!” Athena tossed one of her Pokeballs, an older-looking ball that had seen some wear and tear over time. “Can you hear anything? You and Taka can lead the way!”

“Excuse me,” Ema said, surprising Phoenix. The last time he’d seen her she was a bitter, Snackoo-chomping detective working under Klavier Gavin, but the look of weariness seemed gone from her face.

“Ema! It’s been a while,” he said. “I thought you were still-”

“Working with the fop?” She grinned. “Nope! I actually just got back from overseas, took the forensics test again, and voila!” She pointed proudly to her armband. “I’m not working under any particular prosecutor, but Chief Gumshoe was happy to send me out on this case.”

“Congratulations, then,” Phoenix said, shaking her hand. “I’d love to stay and catch up, but…”

“You want to check out the crime scene.” Ema smirked. “Go right ahead. This is a special case, since no one actually believes Misty did it.” Simon and Athena both sighed with relief, and Phoenix nodded.

“Thanks, Ema.” Taka and Audino had already dashed off after the mysterious person, so Phoenix set to work examining the tape outline and the surrounding area. The outline was of a sprawled body, arms spread wide out and legs crumpled at the knees. A typical position for a person to collapse in.

“This must be where he fell after he dragged himself from the lake,” Athena murmured. Simon nodded, frowning.

“I can’t imagine having that kind of strength after being beaten almost to death.”

“Says the man who broke his shackles on more than a few occasions,” Athena teased.

“Let’s not forget, this is a child, barely twelve years old,” Phoenix reminded them. “A Pokémon trainer, yes, but still a child. I know adrenaline can play a role, but someone his age and size normally would have drowned no matter how hard they tried to pull themselves out.”

“I really hope it was a Pokémon attack. Not that I’d wish that on a kid, either, but at least that’s just an occupational hazard,” Athena said. “Though if a Pokémon could do this much damage…”

“They should put a warning sign somewhere,” Simon finished the thought. “Aura had a close encounter with a Ursaring when we were children, and it scarred her quite heavily. It’s one of the main reasons she chose to work in a robotics lab as an adult.”

“Hey, what’s this?” Athena suddenly pointed towards something within the police tape, which they were careful not to cross. “Looks like footprints, and they’re definitely too big to be Misty’s.” Phoenix examined as carefully as he could.

“They don’t look like they were made recently...just barely, in fact. They could be from before the crime was committed,” he said. “Still, it’s important we pick up everything.” He snapped a photo of the prints.

That was when Taka and Athena’s Audino came back, their eyes wide.

“Taka? Did something happen?” Simon asked, frowning.

“I think it would be easier if I just let Gallade out and let him translate for those two,” Phoenix suggested.

“That sounds good, boss, let him out,” Athena agreed.

Once the Gallade was out of his Pokéball, he quickly spoke to Taka and the Audino, before his eyes went wide as well.

{What do you mean, _they vanished?!_ Okay, a Banette I can understand, it’s a Ghost-type, but a _human?_ } Gallade held up a hand for silence, listening intensely to the two Pokémon. {You… suspect that’s no ordinary human, Taka, that there’s something off about her?} The Spearow cried what seems to be a ‘yes’. {Well, there’s not much we can do about her, I’m afraid.}

“So, there’s something suspicious about that girl, you say?” Phoenix asked his Gallade.

{Not related to the case, if that’s what you’re wondering. Whoever that girl is, it’s not really our business, but… humans don’t just vanish outta thin air and be found undetected by Pokémon like Taka and Audino. I mean, I heard her getting angry about being unable to pay tribute to the guardians of the lake, meaning she’s obviously not a suspect…} Gallade shook his head. {But I can’t help but feel chills about this.}

“Don’t tell me we’re dealing with ghosts on top of an attempted murder,” Athena muttered. Phoenix shook his head.

“It doesn’t matter right now, we have to continue this investigation as soon as possible so we can meet with Red.”

“I suppose if w see them again, we’ll know more. But Wright-dono is correct,” Simon said.

“No objections from me.” Athena knelt down beside the tape. “Meanwhile, I found something else.” She held up a spoon with some kind of food mashed onto it, most likely a sauce. “And look at this,” she said, picking up a peach pit. “I guess someone was cooking with peaches?”

“Maybe we should have asked Brock what they made for dinner that night,” Phoenix said. “In the meantime, put them in this plastic bag.” He usually brought bags along in case they found anything organic, especially if it could spill or get everything else sticky.

“I certainly hope Brock did not prepare anything with peaches, lest Misty’s case look even more hopeless,” Simon mused, holding back Taka so he couldn’t try to eat the remaining peach bits on the pit.

“We’ll take the spoon to Ema for fingerprinting,” Athena said. “I wonder if she can do a saliva DNA test, too…” Simon and Phoenix blanched.

“I, for one, hope not. That sounds immensely disgusting,” Simon grumbled. Athena shrugged.

“It could be worse. We could be dealing with _used tissues_ , if you know what I mean!” Simon actually squirmed, Athena giggled, and Phoenix shook his head.

“If you two are done clowning around, there’s still a lot of ground to cover.”

 

**_October 11th, 2028  
_ _Arbor Forest_ **

 

At the other end of the forest, Apollo had found a hair tie, a few paper wrappers, and a sock. Other than the sock being dirty and gross, he wasn’t sure what point any of these things had, but they couldn’t afford to leave anything behind.

“It’s really pretty here, isn’t it,” Trucy sighed. “It’s a shame it had to be a crime scene twice, first that creep trying to hurt Celebi and now this.”

“I know, right?” Clay hugged himself a little. “Kind of cold right now, though.” Apollo frowned, digging in his pack until he found a scarf.

“Here.”

“Thanks.” Clay smiled and wrapped it around his neck. Beside them, Apollo could swear Trucy was grinning before she called out to them both.

“It’s another sock!” Clay snorted.

“What, did someone decide the woods were a good place to run around barefoot?”

“...Wait, don’t tell me this is a crime scene, too!”

All three of them almost jumped out of their skin as they looked behind them. It was rather hard to see, but in the shadows, a figure was standing there.

“Sorry for bothering you,” a young, feminine voice rang out from the figure. “I’m on a pilgrimage of sorts around the region, and it turns out my latest destination’s a crime scene. Care to explain what happened?”

“Who are you?” was the first thing out of Apollo’s mouth. Clay, looking a little pale, was clutching his arm while Trucy eyed the girl suspiciously.

“A traveler, duh,” came the reply. “Look, I’m on my way back to Olivine, but I’d really like to know what’s going on, because I need an explanation as to why sacred ground became a crime scene.”

“Oh, right.” Apollo rubbed the back of his neck. “A kid in the area was almost killed a few days ago, someone or something beat him within an inch of his life.”

The figure relaxed. “Is that the thing with that Gym Leader girl I heard about?”

“It is. Apollo here is one of the lawyer’s taking her case,” Clay said, looking a little calmer now.

“Technically, Mr. Wright is her lawyer. Athena and I are just the co-counsel,” Apollo said. “We’re doing an investigation right now.”

“Alright. Welp, better not bother you guys any further,” she told them. But as she turned to walk away, Apollo immediately something off about her shadow. Something between strange and sinister, creepy but not so much that he feared for their lives.

“Wait, Miss-” he called after her, but she was already gone. Clay had unlatched himself from Apollo’s arm, looking slightly embarrassed.

“Sorry about that. She kinda snuck up on us from out of nowhere, and…”

“It’s all right, Clay, Polly told us how you feel about people sneaking up on you,” Trucy said, patting his arm. Apollo nodded, Clay was feeling much better after last week when he’d started to sort out his feelings about the attack, but Athena had said he may never fully get over his fear of being snuck up on, or dark corners and cramped places.

“Let’s keep looking. I bet Mr. Wright and Athena and Prosecutor Blackquill will be done soon, we can’t keep them waiting.”

 

 **_October 11th, 2028_ **  
**_Arbor Forest: Crime Scene  
_ _11:10am_**

 

“See anything else, Athena?” Phoenix asked as he looked around the area. Athena shook her head.

“Other than a few more peach pits and some Pokémon footprints, I think this is all we’re gonna find for-oh!” She gasped, pulling something out from under a pile of leaves. “Some kind of book...eww, it’s all grimy, though. Kinda wet.” She brushed the leaves away and blinked. “ Wicca For Dummies, pocket size edition?”

“Athena,” Simon snorted, “we all know there’s no such title. It’s called…” He coughed, embarrassed. “It _is_ called  Wicca For Dummies.” Phoenix rolled his eyes.

“All I know of Wicca is that it’s one of those old religions kinda close to Spirit Channeling. This book makes it out to be some kind of skill you can learn like playing the piano or knitting.”

“From what I’ve read, Wiccan are worshippers of the triad that makes the Forces of Nature back in Unova,” Athena pointed out. “I can’t tell if this is evidence or not, though.”

“We’ll keep it anyway,” Phoenix said. “If there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that sometimes the most random things can turn out to be important.”

“I think we’ve exhausted our search for the time being,” Simon said. “Ah, and good timing. Here comes Justice-dono.” Phoenix waved towards Apollo’s group, carrying their own evidence.

“Daddy, we ran into the strangest girl,” Trucy announced. “She snuck up on us and ran off without even telling us her name. And Polly said there’s something up with her shadow, too.”

“...Could it have been the same girl with the Banette?” Phoenix wondered out loud.

“We didn’t see _any_ Pokémon with her,” Apollo realized, “And she was kinda hiding in the shadows.”

“Like a ninja would,” Simon mused. “I wonder if we should concern ourselves with her, though, as far as we know she’s not relevant to the case at hand.”

“Not really,” Apollo said. “She’s kinda spooky, but I didn’t get any dangerous vibes from her.” He sighed. “Right now, we should go to the Foxglove Inn and meet with Red.” He turned to Clay. “I’ll probably be home late tonight, just a heads-up.”

“I’ll babysit Mikeko, then,” Clay said with a chuckle. Apollo’s Skitty was more of a domestic Pokémon; she knew some good attacks and he took her with him most of the time, but during the evenings she preferred to stay back at his apartment.

“Thanks.” Athena and Trucy grinned towards each other, and Phoenix hid a smile.

“Trucy, you’d better go back to the office, see if we got any calls.”

“All right, Daddy!”

“And I should go pay a visit to my sister,” Simon said. Aura Blackquill had been released from jail a few months back on probation, and was still re-adjusting to life outside and struggling to truly move on from UR-1.

The group parted ways, and the Wright Anything lawyers checked the town map before making their way to the Foxglove Inn.


	4. The Champion's Voice

**_October 11th, 2028_ **  
**_11:25am_ **  
**_The Foxglove Inn_ **

 

The Foxglove Inn is well-known in Olivine for blending traditional design with modern comfort, as well as its close proximity to the Pokémon Center. Word on the street, along the way, was that Red Ketchum had been refusing _any_ interviews about the incident involving his cousin. Perhaps he'd be willing to talk to them more about the victim than to the press, _anything_ to figure out what resulted in Ash's assault.

The trio didn't even needed to ask the innkeeper for him, as the young Champion was found in the lobby, staring helplessly at his Pokégear. He looked every bit the young teen the photos in the magazine presented; it didn’t take much to imagine what his resembling cousin would looked like.

Phoenix carefully approached the teen, Apollo and Athena trailing behind him. "Excuse me, Mr. Ketchum?"

With barely a glance up, any trace of emotions disappeared from the youth's face as he closed his Pokégear. He looked straight ahead to them. "Suits... Sunflower-shaped badges... are you the ones who took the defense of this case?" he asked, his voice almost monotonous. It made sense a Champion _would_ try and stay stoic in such a situation.

"Indeed we are. I'm Phoenix Wright, the lawyer in charge of the case. And my fellow lawyers here-" he designated the duo behind him- "Apollo Justice, Athena Cykes- are my co-counsel. May we perhaps ask you a few questions that could help solve this case?"

Red pursed his lips before nodding. "My room's across the hall. Let's talk there. If you'll follow me..."

  


**_October 11th, 2028_ **   
**_11:25am_ **   
**_The Foxglove Inn- Red’s Room_ **

 

The room Red was staying wasn't exactly the most luxurious, but it made sense that, despite being Champion, the youth _was_ still a humble kid from Pallet Town. A Pikachu was dozing off, curled up on the edge of the lone bed in the room. Red sat next to the Pokémon, double-checking his Pokégear before addressing the lawyers. "In case you're wondering," he began, grabbing the rim of his cap to adjust it, "I'm not ruling out a possible motive that someone attacked Ash to get at me. Figuring out _who_ , and _why_ they put the blame on Misty, still escapes me at the moment."

"So, you believe in her innocence," Athena noted.

"It's too obvious a setup. Whoever did this probably had a motive to point blame at her, too." His face clouded for a moment, biting his lower lip, before going stoic again. "Have you... talked to Ash about this? He _is_ the victim, after all."

Phoenix shook his head. "We're unable to speak to him at the moment; he's still unconscious."

"I... wasn't aware he was still..." Red admitted. "You'd think, as his _cousin_ , I should've been updated about his situation."

Apollo had to stop and stare for a while. _The_ Kanto Champion wasn’t even aware about his own cousin’s current state of being? No wonder his tic was so obvious, as clear as a cloudless day. Red’s nerves were taking a toll underneath the illusion of stoicism.

"I'm surprised you can keep your cool in a time like this," Athena mentioned. "Especially since it's your cousin that's the victim!"

"I am first and foremost Kanto's League Champion," he explained, his tone clear. "I must not let my guard down, ever."

Apollo's hand was on his bracelet. He was sure now- he knew exactly what it was the youth was repressing. "It's noble of you to believe so, Red," he told the youth, "but are you sure that you're being honest with yourself?"

Red's eyes widen as he let out a hissing gasp. Phoenix and Athena turned to their co-worker in surprised. "Apollo? Did your bracelet react to him?" the elder lawyer asked.

"Funny enough," Apollo began his explanation, "I've noticed his tic beforehand, since he's been holding on his hat like a safety blanket. And whenever the subject is about his _cousin_ ," he pointed to the fingers grasping on the baseball cap Red was wearing, "his grip gets tighter."

The young Champion looked away from the trio, pulling the rim on his cap to hide his face. "I don't... I didn't..." He took a sharp breath. "I said the truth."

"When you said the words 'first and foremost', Red, you tensed up like you did when your thoughts were about your cousin," Apollo pointed out as he checked his book bag for his copy of a certain magazine, to which he pulled out and presented to the youth. "In your interview with _Johto Weekly_ , you said you valued your family over being Champion, with even pictures of the two of you printed in the article."

"I..." Red's voice wavered, and Athena could detect- no, _feel_ distress within. "I'll be fine. Ash's still alive, right? All I've got to do is to stay strong for him, both as his cousin _and_ Champion."

"You say that," Athena noticed as she began to play with her earring, "but I can tell this is taking quite a toll on you. As much as you want to be seen as this impenetrable defense, you're still a _kid_. And no kid should ever experience something like this."

"..." Red pulled down his cap and held it close to his chest, eyes watery. "Ash couldn't be more important in my life besides my parents and sister," he lamented. "To Leaf and me, Ash might as well be another brother."

Apollo knelt in front of him. "Red, I know exactly what you're going through. When you're led to believe that someone you care about could be dead, it _hurts_...and when they survive, you're relieved, but you want justice. To bring down the monsters who tried to take them from you."

The teen's shoulders hitched as his unoccupied hand covered his mouth, muffling his sobs as tears were finally shed. "Why did this happen?!" he choked. "There's no reason for _this_ to happen! Who'd want to attack someone so kind hearted?!"

Phoenix grimaced. This kid was younger than Trucy, and seeing him cry over something out of his control- something involving another _child_ \- filled his heart with an all too familiar ache; the same one he had upon realizing Trucy had nobody else but _him_ to take her home. "That's exactly why we took the case, Red," he explained to the distraught youth, sitting on the other side of him. He put a hand on Red's shoulder. "We'll uncover the truth behind this mess and bring back peace to everyone's lives."

Red looked up to Phoenix, his namesake-colored eyes staring deep, as in trying to look into one's soul. Then, with a nod, he dropped his hand to have it clutch his cap like his other one. "Please," he begged, " _please_ help my cousin." He lowered his gaze. "I don't want him to stop smiling because of this."

Phoenix said nothing, but carefully brought his arm around the youth's shoulder and brought him closer in an embrace. Athena quickly went to grab a few tissues from the box found on the bedside table, to which she offered Red. After a few minutes of crying, Red was able to calm down, still trembling however.

He looked over to his Pikachu. "Figures he'd still be sleeping." He reached out to pet the Pokémon. "Then again, that shows how trustworthy you guys _are_. With Ignatius unable to come out in such a small space, Taranis here's playing bodyguard." He weakly chuckled. "And here I was, hoping to see Ash with a smile on his face. I guess..." his face clouded once more. "I guess it wasn't meant to be."

"You'll see his smile again, I'm sure of it," Athena told him. "He'll be happy to see _you_ again, Red, I'm sure that would him smile."

To that, Red actually offered a tiny smile of his own. "Yeah, you're right. I'll be patient for his sake... and when he wakes up, I'll greet him with a smile of my own... and tell him, 'I'm back.'"

“He’ll be glad to hear that,” Athena said, patting his hand. “Feeling any better now?”

“A little...I’ll be fine, though. I have to be, for his sake.”

“That’s the spirit!” Apollo said. “Now, again! Say it like you mean it!” Red blinked.

“Huh?”

“You’re fine.” Apollo put a hand on his shoulder. “That’s what I always say when I feel low or nervous or anything like that. ‘I’m Apollo Justice, and I’m fine!’”

Red kept on blinking, staring like an Noctowl at the red-garbed lawyer before speaking up. “I’m not sure I understand what’s going on, and loudness is more Ash’s style…” Athena laughed.

“It might seem weird at first, but it really helps. Apollo taught it to me the first time I came to court,” she said. “You don’t even have to yell it as loud as Apollo does! Just say ‘Red Ketchum is fine’ and you’ll feel lots better!”

“Uuhhhh…” The youth looked between all three of the lawyers. “I… I’m Red Ketchum… and I’m fine…?” He shook his head. “I don’t know… It’s not that I don’t want it to work, it’s just… it feels like everything’s been going wrong for the last three days. I haven’t been able to reach my sister in Sinnoh, and my mom’s busy helping Aunt Delia dealing with all of this. I don’t even know where Dad is, either.” Apollo’s smile faded.

“That’s okay, then. Sometimes…” He sighed. “Sometimes it’s hard to say you’re fine when everything hurts.” He put a hand on Red’s shoulder. “Someone you love is in the hospital, you don’t know who did it…”

“I’m sorry, Mr. Justice. Everyone...I wish it could be that easy for me, but I won’t be fine until Ash wakes up and I can see him again.” The young teen closed his eyes. “I’m glad you stopped by, though. It feels nice to have someone listen to me…” He sighed. “I just wish it wasn’t just me here, with my Pokémon. I never thought loneliness could be _this_ brutal.”

“But you’re not alone.” Phoenix hugged him again. “You have us.”

“That’s right! I know we just met, but you can consider us your friends, okay?” Apollo offered.

“And the Wright Anything Agency never turns its back on a friend!”

“...” The tears flowed anew. “Thank you… Thank you so much… I…”

“It’s okay.” Phoenix smiled, drawing Apollo and Athena into a group hug. “Consider yourself one of us, Red. Everything’s going to be all right, I promise.”


	5. Gary Oak Makes the Scene

_**October 11th, 2028** _  
**_12pm_ **  
**_Hospital waiting room_ **

 

After spending some more time with Red, Phoenix told Apollo and Athena to take a break for lunch while he went to the hospital.

“Are you sure you don’t want to come with us, boss?” Athena asked. “We were gonna get some sushi!” Normally, Phoenix’s mouth would have watered at the thought of seafood in any form, but his focus was entirely on the case, and he didn’t have much of an appetite.

“Bring me back something?” He took out some bills from his wallet. “It’s on me this time.” Apollo grinned.

“Thanks! What should we bring you?”

“Anything that’s not Magikarp is fine with me.” Phoenix smiled. “Just take a break, you’ve earned it.”

“If you’re sure,” Apollo said. “Just make sure you rest now and then.” With a wave, the two younger lawyers of the Agency departed for the closest Sushi High Roller they could find. Phoenix sighed, got himself a cup of coffee from the nearby machine, and sat down. But he’d barely taken one sip before the door burst open.

"Where is he?!" Phoenix put down his coffee cup and looked towards the source of the voice. A pre-teen boy with spiky brown hair, rushing into the reception area in a panic. "Where's my friend?!" Phoenix stood up and approached the panicking boy.

"Gary Oak, I assume?" Gary looked like a Deerling in the headlights for a split second before his expression calmed down a bit.

"You're the lawyer taking Misty's case, aren't you."

"Phoenix Wright, yes."

"Thought so. Grandpa's mentioned you in the past...King of the Turnabout, they call you," Gary said with a tiny smile. "Speaking of which, I'd better call him and Ash's mom and let them know I got here safe."

"They're not with you?"

"Grandpa wanted to finish some work at the lab so his assistant didn't have a backlog to deal with," Gary said. "And Ash's mom wanted to go with him...can't say I blame her. She's gonna need all the support she can get." He sighed. "I just didn't want to wait that long. I flew here on Pidgeot for the past three days and two nights...could've been here sooner if I didn't need to sleep." Phoenix frowned. The kid looked pretty exhausted, almost as bad as Apollo had during the trial for Clay Terran's attempted murder.

"You sure you got enough?"

"I'll live." Gary rubbed at his eyes and stifled a yawn. "I just need to see him...just to make sure he's really alive after that."

"Gary!" The Deerling-in-the-headlights look returned to Gary's face.

"Hide me."

"Gary, where are you? We heard you were coming to the hospital, but why? Certainly not to visit that twerp!" Phoenix cringed. Right away, there was something about these two he didn’t like, and not just because they were just fine with insulting a kid in a coma. Unless it was a pet name and they were just teasing, but something told him they meant it.

They looked older than Gary, about Athena’s age, and they didn’t look related to him. While Phoenix wasn’t the kind of person to think every adult who befriended a kid was a predator, there was also such a thing as stranger danger and Gary looked pretty terrified by those two. He let the boy hide behind him and smiled cordially at the pair.

"Looking for someone?" The man gave him a narrow-eyed look.

“And what are you doing here?” he asked, almost like he dared Phoenix to explain himself.

“James and I don’t have time for this,” the woman snapped. “We have a busy work day ahead of us, and we’d hoped to have a moment to talk with our dear friend Gary!” Phoenix bristled, trying not to look as irritated or creeped out as he felt.

“He’s not here. You must have the wrong Gary,” he said as politely as he could manage. James’s eyes narrowed further.

“Are you implying that Jessie and I are stupid? Stupid like that pathetic twerp?”

“Because if you’re looking to start a fight with us, we’ll give you one!” Jessie added. Phoenix willed himself not to start flailing, not in a hospital and not with a panicked preteen hiding behind him.

“No one’s looking to start a fight. I am an attorney-”

“Oh, you’re the attorney taking Misty’s case, aren’t you?” Jessie rolled her eyes. “I’d give up now if I were you. That girl has a temper, and Ash Ketchum has always been a walking trigger for it.”

“Don’t waste your time, sir, there’s so much more you could be doing,” James added. “Besides-”

That’s when a rap song started playing from one of the corners of the waiting room, and the lone nurse sitting there blushed as she pulled out her cellphone. “Sorry! Forgot to put it on vibrate. Excuse me…  _ Ouais, j’suis en break right now _ …”

“Don’t worry about it,” Phoenix said, and when he looked back to Jessie and James, they’d turned a bit pale and were backing away.

“We’d best leave for work!” Jessie said. “If you see Gary, please tell him to send us an email!”

“And remind him about the Tolkien reading tomorrow night! We can’t miss that!” James added. The pair rushed out the door, and Phoenix turned to Gary.

“You’re safe now.”

“Thank Arceus,” he breathed out, then nodded to the nurse, who was grinning as she revealed she wasn’t even taking a call in the first place. “Thanks for noticing we were in a pickle.”

“Those two felt shady as a Darkrai’s shadow,” she pointed out, but then blushed again. “I intended the song to be something else entirely, but it worked.”

“So it’s not just me, then?” Phoenix sighed. “I run into shady characters all the time, but no one who ever called a kid in the hospital a twerp.”

“Maybe they just don’t know how bad he was hurt, maybe they figure he just busted a leg.” The nurse shrugged. “Doesn’t excuse their annoying behavior, of course.”

“I just hope they don’t look for me again,” Gary groaned, sitting down in a nearby chair. “Now I just hope the doctor can tell me something about how Ash is doing...or if I can go in and see him yet.”

The nurse’s expression grew dark. “Yeah, the Ketchum kid- it’s a good thing he’s a universal receiver, made the transfusions easier on us.” She rubbed the back of her neck. “I’d say more, but the head doctor probably wants to tell you himself. All I can say is, thank Arceus for the Lake of Life, it definitely saved his life.”

“Lake of Life? Transfusion?” Gary began to panic again. “Just how badly was he hurt, anyway?!”

“Calm down, Gary, the doctors will figure it out soon,” Phoenix said. “If it helps...who am I kidding, it probably doesn’t. But we’re not ruling out the possibility that he just had a bad run-in with some wild Pokémon.” Gary nodded.

“It doesn’t, but at least that’d make sense,” he said. “Except the Pokémon around there aren’t that much more dangerous than other places...maybe the Ursaring at night. I remember I wanted to go there to catch some Pokémon, but this woman stopped me. Said I’d be better off waiting at her house till the morning, in case the Ursaring were out.”

“Yeah, if you want really dangerous Pokémon?” The nurse began as she pointed her cellphone to them. “Ranger regions. Heard this story from Fiore about a kid getting sliced by a Gallade’s Psycho Cut, almost got paralyzed.” Phoenix flinched.

“I’ve heard being a Pokémon Ranger is a dangerous job, but...that poor kid.” He thought of his own Gallade, who was peaceful and calm. “Was it a wild Pokémon?” He knew most fully-evolved Pokémon couldn’t be found in the wild, especially ones who needed stones, but he remembered Maya’s letter about how her Vulpix had dug up a fire stone and evolved without Maya having to use it, just by touching it.

“Yeah, most Pokémon in Ranger Regions are wild, even fully-evolved ones.” The nurse shook her head. “But that’s neither here or there- would you like me to see if the head doctor’s available?”

“Please,” Gary said. “If I can’t see Ash right now, I at least want to know what’s going on.” Phoenix was reminded of Red, only instead of sorrow Gary seemed panicked and angry. It then reminded him of Athena, how her answer to a problem was to get angry or fly into a panic.

She nodded. “Alright, just give me a minute or so…” She left the the room, obviously in hopes of finding the head doctor.

“So you really flew all the way here from Pallet on so little sleep?” Phoenix asked. “I think you should take a nap once you get done talking to the doctor, or you’ll get sick.”

“Yeah, if there’s an inn I can stay away from those two…” Gary frowned. “I heard Red was found in one, is that true?”

“He’s staying at the Foxglove Inn,” Phoenix said. “My protégés and I were just in to see him a while ago, actually…” He sighed. “I assume since you and Ash are friends, you’re close to Red, right?” Gary nodded.

“Is...is Red…”

“He could really use the company.” Phoenix didn’t feel right about telling Gary everything, especially with the image Red tried to keep up. Luckily, Gary seemed to understand.

“Ash’s welfare had always been a weakness for Red,” he noted. “Even as little kids he’d get worried if Ash got sick or hurt. So he’s obviously a mess right now, right?”

“Pretty much,” Phoenix said. “Just don’t tell him I confirmed it.” Gary nodded once again.

“Got it.” At that moment, the doctor appeared. “Finally! So what’s going on, is my friend-”

“He’s alive, and he’s going to remain so. Believe me, the staff was just as worried when he was brought in,” the doctor said. “Mr. Phoenix Wright, I assume?” Phoenix stood up, extending his hand.

“I’m taking Misty’s case. I’ll need all the information you’re legally allowed to give me.”

“I do have good news- the boy’s been stabilized and is merely unconscious now,” the doctor announced. Gary exhaled in relief. “We’re keeping him in intensive as a precaution right now, but with any luck, he should wake up as early as tomorrow.”

“Good! Now, who did this to him, so I can kick their butt?!” Gary asked, but Phoenix put a hand on his shoulder to hold him back.

“That’s what my team and I are going to find out, Gary, calm down.”

“Oh, right.” Gary slumped down in his seat. “Well, let me know when he’s awake so I can see him.”

“Will do,” the doctor said. “Now, Mr. Wright, I assume you’ll need the medical reports…”

“If you can give me a copy,” Phoenix said. “So what was the extent of the damage? I know he needed a blood transfusion.”

“Aside from the blood loss, we discovered his nose and jaw bone showed signs of severe fracture. Obviously the healing waters knitted the bone, but there are still cracks along his jaw,” the doctor said. “And several of his teeth seemed to be knocked out and subsequently replaced.”

Phoenix couldn’t help but frown. “The Lake of Life can restore teeth?!”

“Permanent teeth,” the doctor said. “Two of them were his only remaining baby teeth, so he’ll have spaces until the new ones grow in.”

“Oh, I see.”

“We also found some...traces of internal bleeding around his ribs,” the doctor went on. Phoenix winced, and he saw Gary clench his fist. Finding out who the real culprit was would be the Wright Anything Agency’s job, but Phoenix wished he could ask the doctor if there was any way he could indicate who’d done such a thing.

The nurse hovered back in the hall. “Hey, boss, refresh me-” she was looking over a clipboard- “do we give the Ketchum kid fifty milligrams of his current painkillers or sixty?”

The doctor frowned. “Fifty- sixty would be approaching a risk of overdose for a boy his age, Remilia.”

“I  _ still _ can’t tell the difference between your five’s and six’s, boss,” she mumbled as she returned to where Ash was probably resting. The doctor made a face, rubbing the back of his neck.

“She thinks I’m the first-ever doctor to have terrible handwriting.” He sighed. “I thought I  _ was  _ trying to make them different this time. Oh, well, guess I’ll have to practice more.” He cleared his throat. “But yes, all of the information is in that file. Is there anything else you wanted to ask?”

“Yes. Was anyone else with the paramedics when Ash was brought in?” Phoenix asked. “Brock, or another bystander, maybe?”

The doctor shook his head. “No, it was just the boy, I’m afraid. His friend Brock did walk the entire way here once he discovered what happened, however.”

“He doesn’t even have any flying-types that could carry him,” Gary said. “And the hospital is a good ten minutes from Arbor Forest, too.” Phoenix shuddered.

“He probably  _ ran _ , if his concern over Ash was any indication. Athena could sense it no matter how calm he tried to stay when he came to us.”

“Yes, he did seemed out of breath when he arrived here.” The doctor passed a hand through his hair. “We had to drag Remilia out of her break just to get her to calm him down. For some reason, she’s our best nurse to do that, especially with kids and teenagers. Might come from being a Joy.”

“You know, I had a feeling there was something familiar about her,” Phoenix said. “Her hair and her eyes, even if her hair isn’t done in the usual Joy style.”

“A Joy working in a human hospital,” Gary mused. “I’ve never heard of that before.”

“It’s not surprising to us- the knowledge your typical Joy has of anything Pokémon has ingenious uses in human healthcare, after all.” The doctor waved a hand to where she was a moment ago. “A little hard on people’s handwriting, but our best employee and a boon in our workforce.”

“Hmm…” Phoenix remembered quite a few cases where he’d talked to doctors about a victim or a defendant, but he couldn’t remember one ever coming to the stand. When Remilia returned, he would have to ask a favor of her.  _ If the investigation doesn’t confirm the species of Ash’s assailant, we may need Remilia to do so _ , he thought. It wouldn’t be the first time something vital came to light during the trial.

And speaking of the devil, Remilia returned to the room. “Sorry boss, you’re needed again. Got the chart copy Mr. Wright is gonna need, though,” she mentioned as she lifted up a file. “Anything else you need me to do before I go back on break?”

“No, that would be all, Nurse Joy,” the doctor told her with a smile. “Continue on with your break, Remilia.” The doctor then left the room.

“Well, here’s the kid’s medical chart, Mr. Wright,” she said as she offers him the file.

He took them carefully. “Thanks for your help, Miss Joy.”

“No problem. By the way,” she was frowning to herself, “weren’t you the one who took care of the whole Turney Grey and Mimi Miney case some time ago?”

Well, that was unexpected. “I was, actually,” Phoenix answered, wondering how this related to anything.

“That whole thing messed up the industry bad,” she began explaining, staring back at the hall before facing him again. “I always have to triple check everything with the boss. My pharmaceutical teacher said she suspected that the whole Grey and Miney thing happened because she couldn't read what he wrote. My boss isn't as bad as I make it out to be, really, but you can  _ never _ be careless in the healthcare industry.”

“Something tells me if you called your boss out, he’d actually listen,” Gary piped up. “I was still just a little kid when the trial happened, but I remember hearing about it years later when…”

“When I lost my badge,” Phoenix said. “Yeah, the news was all over that and they brought up a bunch of my past cases just to highlight how far I’d fallen.”

“And it turned out to not even be your fault, but someone else’s,” Remilia noted. “And when I discovered who was his teacher, well, both of them had it coming.”

“Means, right?” Phoenix sighed. He’d been in the audience for that trial, watched Means nearly shatter Athena’s then-fragile psyche with words alone...and then, Klavier’s apology after the show that night.  _ Herr Wright, forgive me, had that man not spoken to me, I’d have taken the stand _ .

Suddenly, Gary cleared his throat.

“This is all fascinating, but can we go back to talking about Ash? Like, when do you expect he’ll wake up tomorrow? How long does he need to stay here afterwards? I don’t have anything going on right now, so I can stick around!” Phoenix laughed nervously.

“Sorry, Gary, we got caught up in old memories. I’d actually like to know that, too,” he said.

Remilia nodded. “Yeah, we’re not 100% sure about this, but judging from his state, the likeliest for him to wake up tomorrow is about noon, and for how long we’ll need to keep him once he wakes up… that’s up to the boss.” She then turned to Gary. “And if I’d were you, I’d go rest somewhere as soon as possible. I don’t think Ash would like it if you fall sick because you haven’t properly rested from flying almost three days straight.” Gary rubbed the back of his neck, stifling a yawn.

“You’re probably right. I was gonna camp out in the woods, but after those two…” He shuddered. “Maybe I better stay at Foxglove Inn.”

“Good idea,” Phoenix said firmly, just as Apollo and Athena came back with a bag from High Roller and another from what he guessed was a candy store. “Good timing, you two. I managed to get the medical chart and reports.”

“Nice!” Athena grinned, handing him the High Roller bag. “We also got some dessert if you want any. Apollo’s idea.” Apollo blushed.

“Well, this store had caramels on sale, and I had a few extra bucks in my pocket,” he said.

Remilia looked like she was salivating. “Oh, is it the sea salt ones?” she asked. “Those are my favorites!”

“Some of them are,” Apollo said. “Mr. Wright, who’s this?”

“Ash’s nurse,” Phoenix said. “Remilia Joy.”

“Nice to meet you,” Athena said. “So...you’re a Joy?”

As Gary left for the Foxglove Inn and his two protegés talked to Remilia, Phoenix headed to the hospital cafeteria to eat. In a while, they’d go back to the detention center and talk to Misty again.


	6. A Talk Between Old Friends

****_**October 11th, 2028**_  
 _ **Foxglove Inn**_  
 _ **1pm**_

__

“Hello, and sorry, you’ve reached Leaf Ketchum’s voicemail. Please-”

Red pushed the Cancel button on his Pokégear, sighing as he leaned back on his chair. “Still not around, huh, sis…” he spoke to himself. He had already sent one message to her when he first learned about Ash, but he didn’t thought it was important to spam her messages unless there was an update on their beloved cousin.

Maybe he should get Porygon to find the hospital’s number. It was one of the things the Pokémon was able to do in his customized laptop, after all. If anything, being updated about Ash’s current state of being would be enough to settle him down, even if it was just a simple ‘no change’ announcement.

His PokéGear sounded from the laptop. “Huh?” Red grabbed on his headphone as he checked the item itself for who was calling his number. “...Gary?” He pressed the Answer button.

“Hey, Red? It’s me.”

Something off was with his voice, and when Red turned around to check the front desk, he got his explanation- Gary was _right there_ , calling him, without even noticing the Champion was already in the lobby.

Well, wasn’t that convenient. The older teen automatically both muted the PokéGear as well as removed the volume on his laptop, taking off his headphones, and slowly creeped up to Gary.

“...Where are you right now? I could really talk to someoooOOOOONNNE-” the younger boy shivered as Red traced the part of his neck where his spine was found. Turning around to face him, Gary somehow managed to grimace and pout at the same time. “ _Very_ funny, Red.”

“I couldn’t help it,” Red explained with a laugh in his voice, passing a hand through his dark hair. “I needed a bit of levity after everything…” He glanced over to the set of keys that Gary was holding in the hand without the Pokégear. “Huh, cool. Your room’s actually connected to mine.”

“Yeah, I was told you were here, actually,” Gary mentioned as he hung up the call on his PokéGear. “And I get it, today's been the worst. I wish I could find something to laugh at.”

“...My horrible computer skills?”

To that, the pre-teen actually chuckled. “That's a good one. You're pretty lousy with those!”

Red’s face glowed closer to his namesake. “Yeah, each time I visit the Kanto Hall of Fame page, I always break it.” He thumbed towards his laptop. “I'm so bad, they had to put in a Porygon with an _Everstone_ in my laptop.”

“That is pretty bad, huh,” Gary realized. “Good thing Porygon is pretty much foolproof!”

The blush on the Champion’s face got even more close to his namesake. “Not... usually?” That bashful tone in his voice made him sound more like the teen he was instead of the stoic wall he presented to the public. “This is my second Porygon. They didn’t give an Everstone with my first, and, well… It’s a Porygon-Z already.”

“Ah…” Gary knew Red would never intend to end up with a Porygon-Z on purpose, but with the bad luck his friend has with computers, it wasn’t much of a surprise. And knowing Red, it probably became a battle-worthy Pokémon. “Well, hopefully you're doing better now?”

“Yeah, this laptop handles everything for me. Except videophones, I'm good with videophones. Everything else,” Red gestured again towards his laptop, “I need to depend on either the laptop or my PokéGear. Was a bit of a hassle at the beginning, but nowadays I’m comfortable with this arrangement.”

To that, Gary couldn’t help but nod. “That’s good. So…” he rubbed the back of his neck, “how are you holding up?”

He couldn’t help that sinking feeling in his stomach as Red’s expression just _dropped_. “...Well,” the other boy began, his voice above a whisper, “I managed to talk to Misty's lawyer and his crew…”

As Gary was told. “I ran into him, too. The others weren't with him, but Mr. Wright is a great guy...I trust him. He even saved me when those two came looking for me.” And the thought of remembering _those_ two made him grimace.

“...‘Those two’...?” Red couldn’t help but repeat.

“You remember those Team Rocket members who keep trying to steal Ash's Pikachu?”

“Not remember, but I do recall your gramps mentioning it to me,” said the Champion. “What about them?”

“Well…” Gary shuffled his feet as he looked around the lobby before continuing on. “They've started following me around saying I'm their friend.”

He didn’t remember the last time he saw Red look this confused. “...Why?” he asked, gesturing with his hands to emphasis his question.

Gary made a similar gesture. “I don’t know!” he exclaimed. “I only ever came in contact with them a few times, once when they rigged the Viridian Gym battle for Ash and another when they attacked Grandpa at the lab…”

Red just halted as he looked straight at his cousin’s rival. “...Wait, say that again.”

 _Oh boy, he’s gonna get angry when he learns about this_ , Gary realized. “They rigged the Viridian Gym to give Ash a shock every time he lost...something along those lines. And one time they tried to rob Grandpa's lab.”

He had never seen Red’s body clenched the way it just did. “They did _what_ in **_where?!_ ** ”

Thus poor Gary was stuck telling the Champion exactly what had happened in Viridian Gym- not just to Ash, but to himself as well- and that time they, well, tried to rob his grandfather’s lab. The wide eyes Red ended up having after the story was done wasn’t unexpected, either.

“...Okay, can you…” He waved his hand around. “Can you give me a minute for a second…”

Red was obviously trying to process what he had just been told if he said that. _I know they’re sayings, but I can’t really give you a minute for a second, Red, time doesn’t work like that._

“So, what you’re telling me…” the Champion took a deep breath. “What you’re telling me, is that the Viridian Gym was under Team Rocket control _the entire time_?!”

So that was the part that Red was hung up with, Gary realized. “It was. The Gym Leader I challenged, with that absurdly powerful Psychic Pokémon, he turned out to be the boss of Team Rocket. He'd left those two clowns and their Meowth in charge of the gym that day.”

The Champion didn’t even bothered with balling his hands into fists, he just clenched his fingers tightly, and the scowl on his face had his teeth bare. “I guess I shouldn't have stayed on Mount Silver, after all,” he noted, a sharp bite to his tone that seemed to make the rasp in his voice more prominent.

Gary simply put a hand on Red’s arm. “It’s not your fault. That man covered his tracks really well.”

“I faced that guy… and got the Earth Badge from him! And I wasn't even aware he was Team Rocket's leader!”

“He hid it well,” Gary couldn’t help but explain. Ketchums were known for their kind hearts… but also their ferocious tempers when any foul play was involved, and even stoic Red was no exception to the rule. “Even now no one actually knows the truth, only Ash and I figured it out. But who'd believe it?”

Calmness returned to Red as all tension he was showing seem to melt away. “I do,” he told his younger friend, looking straight into his green eyes. And that was another aspect of Ketchums Gary couldn’t help but notice- their admirable honesty.

He sighed. “Thanks.”

Red put up a finger, then went back for his laptop and Pokégear. When he returned to the front desk, the closed laptop under his arm and Pokégear in hand, he had a small, yet soft smile on his face. “How about we go to my room and relax?”

Gary gave a smile of his own- a thin one, but a smile nonetheless. “Sounds good. I’m a little tired from all that flying, actually.”

“Alright, then.” Red brought his free arm around the pre-teen’s shoulders. “You'll see your room along the way. ...And if you need bodyguards, I'm sure Ivan would gladly help you.”

“Thanks.” Gary leaned a bit against him. He wasn’t sure which of Red’s Pokémon was Ivan, but knowing the theme behind the Champion’s naming scheme, it must be a Psychic type, named after the psychic character of one of Red’s favorite comic characters.

 

 ******_October 11th, 2028_**  
**_Foxglove Inn- Red’s Room  
1:10pm_**

 

Upon arriving into the bedroom, Red quickly went and placed his laptop and Pokégear on a nearby desk. His Pikachu was still on the bed, this time closely observing a Pokéball.

That brought a smile on Gary’s face. “So, yours doesn’t like Pokéballs, either, Red?”

He had never seen Red flinched like he just did before. “No… It’s not Taranis who…” He turned around, and his expression was once again one of pain. “It's _me_ who doesn't like Taranis in a Pokéball. Not since…”

“Since…?”

Red passed a hand through his hair, taking a deep breath. “Since I caught Taranis and Ash's Pikachu at the same time.”

“Uh, how did that work? You obviously can’t catch two Pokémon with one Pokéball…”

That got a snorting sound out of the Champion. “Of course not. I used two Pokéballs at the same time. It was my first capture, even.” Red began to play with his hair. “Taranis and Ash’s Pikachu… they’re brothers, and his is probably the oldest of the two.” He looked away for a second. “See, your grandpa needed to study a Pikachu for some reason, and so I offered to catch him one.” He hung his head. “...I really messed up. I think I’m the one who caused Ash’s Pikachu his phobia of Pokéballs, and I don’t blame him. I hope when I meet him again, he doesn’t have a grudge against me.”

“I’m sure Ash’s Pikachu has forgiven you by now.” Gary frowned. “So, how do you know about Ash having Pikachu, anyway?”

“When I first arrived in Olivine, before I was told about Ash’s…” Red shook his head. “Well, I called your Grandpa- I think you were out doing an errand or something- and I wanted to know about that Pikachu. ...He told me he became Ash’s starter. I’m just…” A heavy sigh came out of him. “I have no clue what’s going on anymore.”

“Well, you explained that mystery of where Gramps got Ash’s Pikachu,” Gary notified him. “Ash was late to get a Pokémon, but next time I saw him he had Pikachu.”

“Of course that would be the reason why…” Red took a deep breath. “Ever since capturing those two... when I finally got the courage to open Taranis' ball…” He clenched, then unclenched his fist.  “I found myself unable to put him back in there.”

To that, all Gary could do was nod.

Red sat down on his bed, absent-mindedly rubbing the back of his neck. “You know, I haven't really gotten an update from you, but…” his namesake colored eyes shifted towards Gary. “I can tell you've changed a lot since I left Pallet Town.”

That got the pre-teen to blush a bit, scratching his cheek. “I know, I used to be a little snot back then...I've grown up since losing in the Indigo finals. It was a big heap of humble pie for me.”

The Champion cocked an eyebrow at that. “I thought your humble pie was with Team Rocket’s boss?”

“That was the start of it. It...took me a while.”

“Being the grandson of Professor Oak probably got into your head,” Red pointed out, tapping his finger against his own head.

“Yeah, it did.” Gary played with his bangs a bit. “I just wanted to prove I was great like he is...Ash and I both have a competitive streak, but I let mine turn me into a jerk.”

Red hummed. “As for me, I've never been one for competition.”

Gary couldn’t help but laugh a bit. “Yet you still managed to become a Champion.”

Said Champion shook his head. “Let's be real, here, I'm not happy being Champion.”

Green eyes widen. “Really?”

“Too stressful,” Red explained laconically. “Why do you think I went to Mount Silver for?”

Gary bit his lip. “I thought it was to test your strength further...that's what everyone thought.” But now that he was thinking about it, Red had barely turned eleven when he became Kanto’s Champion. It should’ve been a no-brainer that such an important role would be too a heavy weight for someone as young as him.

“Well, that too, but…”

“...You must have been pretty lonely up there, though.” Red may have been the stoic kind of guy, but Gary had known him long enough to know that he also happened to prefer the company of other humans as well. Just him and his Pokémon on that icy mountain for two years…

Those thoughts vanished as Red let out a ‘pfft’. “I wished. Lance and the Elite Four often visited me when I was at the base's Pokémon Center.” He sighed heavily as he shook his head. “Let me be clear, that I know more about life than a 13 years old kid like me should be allowed. The things they talk about!”

“I can imagine.”

“Also,” Red lifted a finger up, “ _don't_ let Lance near alcohol, he's a lightweight. Give him two glasses of wine and he’s a giggling mess, and the others are capable of drinking him under the table.”

“Really?” Gary couldn’t help but snerk at the image of the other Champion tipsy on wine. “I never would've figured.”

“...” Red slipped off his shoes and brought his knees to his chest, holding on to his legs like a teddy bear. A heavy sigh left his lips. “This is such a mess.”

Of course Gary would agree with that. “I know. Even small talk can't fix the fact that Ash nearly got killed.” He too sighed as he runs a hand through his hair. “Why would they even blame Misty?! She's got a temper, even smacked me a few times, but she'd _never_ kill anyone.”

Red fiddled with the sleeve on his jacket. “And although I haven't met her directly, I know her sisters love her.”

“Yeah, the three of them can be airheads, but when I went to the gym for my battle, they talked about her constantly.”

Now Red was rubbing his arm. “They probably don't do it in earshot of her.”

“Why?”

The deadpan stare Red gave Gary helped emphasize his next words. “They have an image to uphold.”

“Aah.” Of course Red would know all about that as the Champion, and remembering how Gramps fretted before an interview about his clothes. “Images can be a pain, can't they.”

A nod was the answer to the implied question. “It's one of the reasons I hate being Champion.”

Silence filled the air to what felt like an eternity, but was probably not even a full minute before Gary spoke up again. “I'm glad you came down from Mt. Silver, honestly. Everyone misses you.”

“Yeah. ...And to think of _why_ I came down is just…”

Gary didn’t needed special hearing to notice how Red’s voice trembled. “...You wanted to visit Ash, didn't you?”

Red hung his head, putting his forehead against his knees. Gary frowned as he saw the youth rubbing his palm against his eyes, as if wiping away tears.

“Red?”

The only answer was a whimper. Gary couldn’t help but wince and bite his lip, trying to control the sinking feeling that returned to his stomach. “...Sorry.”

“No, no, it’s just…” Red took a shaky breath. “...It's harder when it's family,” he managed to say, his throat tight from avoiding any sobs to escape.

“And family’s so important to you.” Of all the sacrifices the Champion had to make by staying on Mount Silver, the lack of contact with his family was visibly the harshest. Seeing Red nodding to his words and the next swipe of a hand revealing tear stains on Red’s fingers, the only thing Gary could do was awkwardly pat his friend’s shoulder.

Another shaky breath was taken. “Sorry,” Red apologized, “I don't remember the last time you saw me this emotional.”

“I can't, either,” Gary admitted. “Well, I can’t remember the last time you _cried_. You almost blew up learning about Team Rocket and the Viridian Gym.”

A wheezing chuckle came out of the Champion, alerting Taranis who dropped the staring contest with the Pokéball to check on his trainer, who then noticed the newcomer in the room.

Gary smiled sadly at the Pikachu. “Hey, Taranis…”

“Pika?” Taranis blinked, cocking his head to the side. This other trainer that wasn’t his, he never met him before. And, as a strange set of circumstances, Gary never met Red’s Pikachu, either- not even at the party at Pallet Town, celebrating the new Champion.

“That reminds me. How come I’ve never met Taranis before, Red?”

Red frowned. “Seriously?” Then his eyes widen. “Oh, right, I think I know why. It's because Taranis refused to leave the lab because he could smell his brother's Pokéball. I mean, you have met Ignatius. I remember how much you gushed over him at the party in Pallet, after I became champion…”

Gary nodded. “Makes sense.”

“Since then, my inability of putting Taranis back into his Pokéball got worst, now that I…” Red couldn’t finish as his shoulders shook.

 _Oh boy, awkward._ Gary knows Red has emotions, but the Champion had always put forth such a stoic face, so he's not sure what to do with this. “He's gonna be okay, you know. The doctor told me Ash’s been stabilized, and he’s only unconscious now.”

“...He's lucky he's a universal receiver.”

Gary wasn’t going to argue with that. “Yeah, if he had a _rarer_ type…” He shuddered at the thought- Ash wouldn’t be stable by now. “I'm glad they were able to get him what he needed in time.” Red merely nodded. Taranis blinked, staring intensely at his trainer’s tear-filled eyes. With a sigh, Gary awkwardly patted his old friend on the back.

“I know, I know…” Red shook his head. “What a sight, right…”

“Hey, it's not like anyone could blame you.” If anything, Gary can imagine all of the Champion’s many fans and admires send him just about anything that could seem comforting, like chocolates and sympathy cards. “Heck, I'm surprised I haven't cried yet, I'm too busy being angry.”

“Well,” Red couldn’t help but point out, “you always were angry when stuff like this happened…”

A slight blush appeared on Gary’s face. “Yeah. Back before I became such a jerk, I could get pretty defensive of Ash…”

Red straighten his posture. “Not just him,” he carefully reminded Gary. “You flew off the handle when your grandmother... when she vanished.”

“...Yeah.” It wasn’t something the pre-teen wanted to remember, especially in their current situation. “I dunno why I never learned to do anything else.” He sighed. “It's not even like getting mad fixed anything.”

“If only Dad or Uncle Mark was here.”

Gary caught on from Red’s whispering tone exactly why he said that. Red’s father Rusty and his uncle Mark- who’s also Ash’s own father- happened to be Aura Guardians, both of them specializing in different areas of the role. Rusty was helping police with forensics and currently working somewhere in either Kanto or Johto, while Mark was in Kalos as an archaeologist, aiding a team of like-minded scholars and scientists in the study of Mega Evolution.

With both cousins’ mothers still in Pallet Town and the fathers unable to be around, not to mention Leaf being in Sinnoh, it was no wonder Red was breaking apart.

“I know,” Gary told him. “They could fix anything, or at least make you and Ash feel better.” He then bit his lip a bit jealously, as close as he is to Gramps, his own dad, well…

Red shifted his legs to sit cross legged. “Something bothering you?”

“It's nothing. Nothing compared to right now, anyway.” Gary waved his hand as if getting rid of the thought. Right now wasn’t the time to think about his father. “I'll tell you more another time. But...right now, I'm here for you and Ash.”

“Thanks.” Red’s face clouded for a moment. “...And I'm around to keep you away from Team Rocket, too.”

“Oh, _thank you_ , Red.” Gary couldn’t help but sigh in relief. “I hope they're not anywhere near this place.”

“Well, like I said,” Red stroked a Pokéball with a decal depicting the logo of the comic Ivan’s name was taken from, “if you need an extra bodyguard, Ivan can keep an eye out.”

“Good. I don't even know why they think I'm their friend, and the stuff they were going on about…”

Red stared at Gary, scratching behind Taranis’ ear. “What sort of stuff were they talking about?”

“Not talking, it was via e-mail,” Gary explained. “At first it was just...weird stuff, like writers and bands I've never heard of. But then they started talking about Ash…”

And of course Red frowned. “Do I want to know?”

Gary’s eyes darted away before he began to speak. “Apparently, I played some dice-rolling game with them, where _I_ helped them and some friends of theirs _humiliate_ Ash.”

He did expect Red to react. Seeing his namesake colored eyes go dark and narrow, his frown going deeper and his unoccupied hand turn into a fist told Gary enough of what Red was feeling at that moment. “Ex _cuse me_?!”

“They spared no details, either. Talked about how they mocked his dumb character, their game master friend smacked him, the lectures they gave him on how stupid and worthless he was for playing the game wrong. Even sicced their Pokemon on him.” Gary couldn’t help but shudder. “The thing is, even if they were obviously making it up...something in the way they wrote this said they wished they COULD actually do it.”

“...”

Red stayed silent, but slowly got up from his bed. Taranis said something that, being a Pikachu, was unintelligible, yet could still be understood as {Uh oh, Red is MAD.}

Gary couldn’t help but wince. “I know. I...I didn't even even dared replying to them, it was just an e-mail after all...”

“If I see them _I will wreck them as Kanto's Champion._ ”

“I'd say leave some for me,” Gary began, hugging himself, “but I'd rather just...not even be in the same space as them. Ever.”

Red blinked. “...You’re creeped out. What’s going on with these Team Rocket members? And how did they get your e-mail?”

Gary tensed. “I don’t know _how_ they got it, but the day before Ash got attacked, I got two e-mails from them. The first one was… strange, talking about meeting up in Olivine City, but I just thought it was spam mail or sent to the wrong e-mail address.” He bit his lip, eyes wide. “It’s the _second_ e-mail that had the whole dice-rolling game story among others. It was long, and there was so much stuff in there I didn’t recognized, but apparently I’m supposed to know.” He brought his hands against his head. “I just… I put them into my spam folder, but I still don’t know if that was the right thing to do.”

“Okay, that's... that's actually creepy.” Red’s eyes had also gone wide on hearing Gary’s story. “Did you told your Gramps?”

Gary shook his head. “No, not yet. Those e-mails are gonna still be in my spam folder for another ten days, though, so I could show them to him when he comes here.”

A ‘hmmmm’ came out of Red’s lips. “You should show this to Mr. Wright, too. I dunno why, but I don't like this at all.” He rubbed his neck. “If you don’t mind me changing the topic, are you hungry? The inn’s restaurant should still have boxed lunches we can bring to our rooms.”

“You need to ask?” A grin appeared on Gary’s face. “I’m _famished_. Lead the way!”


	7. A Garden of Evidence

**_October 11th, 2028  
_** **_4:20pm  
_ _Pokemon Center_**

 

“Thank you!” Athena said as the nurse handed her back her Pokeballs. Aside from a few scrapes with wild Pokemon they hadn’t been too roughed up today, but she liked to make sure her partners were healthy. Just as she was leaving, though, she spotted a familiar and welcome face. “Junie! What brings you here?”

“I heard about the case,” Juniper said. “I’m sorry I couldn’t get to you sooner, I’ve been helping Grandma in the garden all day...the pumpkins are starting to get bigger, and we’ll need to harvest the squash soon.” She sighed. “It’s awful, isn’t it? I remember those kids stopping at our house once to rest overnight, and that boy seemed so sweet! Oh, Thena, why does it seem like only the most wonderful, kind people are the ones being attacked lately?”

“I don’t know, Junie,” Athena sighed, pulling her into a hug. Professor Courte’s death still weighed heavily on her friend, and thinking back on that case made Athena wish she’d had the guts to kick Professor Means in that disgusting grin of his. “At least this time everyone’s on the defendant’s side, though. That kinda makes things easier.”

“That’s not surprising,” Juniper said, leaning her head against Athena’s shoulder. “Misty’s one of the most popular Gym Leaders in the Kanto-Johto area, after all. Even if my personal favorite is Erika.” Athena smiled, tweaking one of Juniper’s braids.

“Gee, I wonder why.”

“Anyway...um, I know I’m probably not strong enough for the investigations, but Arbor Forest is near my house, so…” Juniper trailed off, and Athena’s smile became a grin.

“We’d be honored to have you along for the ride! Especially since you know the area so well.”

“Great! Oh, and I almost forgot, I brought you these,” Juniper said, pulling out of their embrace and holding up the small wicker basket. “I thought you and the others could use the strength...but mostly you, of course!” Athena squealed, taking one of the oranges and hugging it to her chest.

“Oh, Junie, this is just the pick-me-up we’ll need! Thank you!” Juniper blushed, twisting one of her braids a little.

“You give me too much credit...I just want to take care of you! Er, all of you.” Athena immediately sensed something different in the words, but decided not to dwell on it for the moment. The case had to take the priority spot, and the more extra information they could get, the better.

_Hang in there, Misty! The Wright Anything Agency and their friends always come through for their clients!_

 

 **_October 11th, 2028  
_** **_4:45pm  
_ _Juniper Woods’s backyard_**

 

The walk from the Olivine Pokemon Center to Juniper’s house was a long one, and they went slowly so Juniper wouldn’t run out of breath. But they still managed to arrive before the others; Mr. Wright was making an important phone call while Apollo texted to let her know he’d stopped back at the office to check on Charley.

“I think it’s wonderful that the office takes such good care of Charley,” Juniper said, letting out her Sunflora. “Plants are just as important family members as humans and Pokemon, after all. Apollo’s such a sweet guy.” The blush that usually colored Juniper’s cheeks at the mention of Apollo was surprisingly absent, Athena noted, but again, she paid it no mind.

“Charley’s been with the office since Mr. Wright’s mentor was in charge,” she said. “He’s lived a pretty long life for a house plant! Kinda surprising since none of us have the green thumb you have.” _Now_ Juniper was blushing.

“Well...i-it doesn’t take _that_ much expertise, Thena, just lots of love and care! And you’ve always been good at _that_ …”

“Hey, feelings and love are my specialty!” Athena giggled. Just then, Juniper’s grandmother poked her head out the door and greeted Athena with a smile. “Oh, hey Mrs. Woods!”

“Athena, dear, you know very well you can call me Laurel,” the old woman said warmly. “What brings you here?”

“Thena’s going to be investigating near our house for her case, Grandma,” Juniper said. “Is that okay? She’s just waiting here for her boss and her co-worker!” Laurel’s eyes widened for a brief moment before narrowing as she frowned.

“Ah, yes, the incident with that boy,” she sighed. “It’s an outrage, that someone would harm a _child_ ! And frame _another_ child...a Gym Leader, yes, but _still_ a child, for the crime!” She shook her head. “I can’t think of _anyone_ who actually believes Misty did it.”

“That’s what we’re hoping will make this a short case,” Athena said. “And right now we’re hoping it was all a big misunderstanding and he just got attacked by a wild Pokemon. Er, not that we’d wish that on him, but still.”

“Yes, there’s a reason many people refuse to camp in that forest without making special preparations,” Laurel said. “And one of the reasons I chose to stay in this big old cottage even after my children moved away and my husband died. It doubles as an inn for trainers who wish to avoid danger.”

“And the wild Pokemon who gather around here are usually much friendlier to humans,” Juniper added. “The worst we get is the occasional Aipom or Spearow or some other little sneak trying to make a meal of our garden…” She frowned. “Actually, that’s something else I wanted to tell you about, Thena.” Athena blinked.

“Did someone break into your garden lately?”

“They took almost half a bush’s worth of Razz berries,” Juniper sighed. “I found them missing after I came home one morning...the morning after I stayed the night at your place, remember?”

“That was three days ago,” Athena said. “Why didn’t you tell me you’d been robbed?” Juniper bit her lip, stifling a cough.

“I didn’t think it was anything unusual at first, we’re used to Pokemon taking our berries...actually, at first I thought Grandma picked them, but she hadn’t been out to the garden yet…”

“And when I did come out, we discovered the dirt leading up to the bush had been tampered with,” Laurel added. “Almost as if something was digging there...or trying to cover their tracks.” Athena frowned. _So on top of everything else we’ve got a berry thief on our hands, too? I wonder if they’ve robbed other gardens, or just Junie’s_ …

“Oh, Junie, I’m so sorry,” she said. “You put a lot of work into growing those, too. I can help you re-plant them when we’re done with the case!”

“It’s all right, Thena, I’m sure they’ll grow back. Berry bushes are pretty hard to kill, after all,” Juniper said. “I just wish I knew who could have done it...we’ve never had any _human_ thieves around here.”

“I’ll ask Mr. Wright if we can look into that, too,” Athena offered, but Juniper and Laurel both shook their heads.

“The case comes first,” Laurel insisted. “Berries will grow back, and a garden thief can be caught. You need to clear young Misty’s name!” Just then, Mr. Wright arrived on the scene, followed by Apollo just moments later.

“Sorry we’re late,” Apollo said. “Trucy wanted to show me a trick she, Mime Jr., Pikachu, and Togepi put together. Luckily they didn’t need me as a volunteer.” He laughed. “Hey, Juniper, long time no see!”

“Hello, Apollo.” She bowed slightly. “How have you been feeling? And how’s Clay’s recovery going?”

“We’re both fine!” Apollo smiled. “Clay doesn’t need the bandages anymore, and my arm’s back to normal.”

“Wonderful! Tell Clay I said hi when you see him next, okay?”

“Will do.” Apollo pulled out a notebook. “So, what are we examining here?”

“Actually,” Athena said, “there’s one thing we should look at before anything else.” She gestured towards the dirt and the Razz berry bush, and Mr. Wright gasped.

“Did you get a visit from a Munchlax or something?”

“If only,” Laurel said. “There’s too many berries missing for the Pokemon we normally see, and a Munchlax would have taken more. No, we believe the burglar was human.” Mr. Wright snapped a photo of the area with his digital camera. While Apollo had finally consented to buy a more up to date phone, Mr. Wright insisted his old Nokia was still perfectly useable and that a digital camera wasn’t that much more to carry around.

“Hey, what’s this?” Apollo suddenly knelt beside a nearby larch tree, carefully picking something up from the grass. “A hair scrunchie…?” Athena moved closer to examine it. It wasn’t too dirty considering it had been lying out in the grass, and it was a light blue color.

“Junie, I know this isn’t yours. Did a guest leave it behind?”

“It’s possible,” Juniper said. “It wouldn’t be the first time anyone left something behind. In fact, Grandma’s insisted on taking down the PokéGear numbers of our guests so they can come back and get anything they’ve lost.”

“Good idea,” Mr. Wright said. “I can’t think of how often I used to lose things when I was a kid.” He patted the lapel of his suit jacket. “Good thing my attorney’s badge stays pinned to this unless I’m doing laundry!”

“I’m not finding much else here,” Apollo said, “just Pokémon tracks.” Suddenly, a Pidgey flew up to him and sat atop his head, cooing to make its presence known. “Ack!” Athena and Juniper both giggled, Athena whipping out her phone to take a picture.

“Aww, I think someone’s made a new friend!” Apollo blushed, going totally still as if he were afraid the bird might peck him.

“Or it thought my head was another Pidgey,” he muttered. “Uh, hey...you’re cute and all, but I’ve got a Skitty at home!” Juniper giggled again.

“He’s one of ours,” she said. “Well, sort of. He doesn’t live with us, but he visits a lot. Sometimes we plant an extra berry tree for him.” Apollo, despite his embarrassment, smiled, and the bird turned towards the ransacked Razz bush with a cry.

“Oh?” Athena blinked. “It sounds like he’s upset someone took his berries before he had a chance.” But the bird cried out again, flying off of Apollo’s head and towards the bush, plucking something from the leaves and dropping it into Athena’s hand. “Ah! This…”

“A piece of a nail or a claw,” Mr. Wright said as he looked down. It was too small to tell, but big enough for the bird to have sensed it. “I guess the burglar broke a nail or something, or had their Pokémon help them loot the bush…”

“We’ll have to give this to Detective Skye along with the spoon and the socks,” Apollo said. “You know, I have a theory. What if Ash caught the burglar sneaking away with the berries and that’s why they beat him up? To make sure he wouldn’t rat them out?” Athena shuddered, remembering a few cases Mr. Wright had told her about from early in his career, and the reason the phantom had attacked Clay.

“I don’t like thinking about it, but it would be a _reason_ other than they’re just a sick creep,” she said. “We’ll have to see what Detective Skye’s able to figure out from the evidence.”

After they searched the rest of the Woods property (Pidgey spending the duration of the investigation atop Apollo’s head), the only other thing they came away with was a scrap of black fabric.

“Still, the dirt and the missing berries and the piece of nail should be enough,” Mr. Wright said. “We should head back to the detention center to see Misty again before we call it a day.” Apollo nodded, tucking a piece of hair Pidgey had pulled loose back into its usual horn-shape.

“Stay safe, Juniper, Mrs. Woods. Let us know if the thief comes back, okay?”

“We will,” Laurel said. “Come on in, Juniper, I’ll need your help starting dinner soon.” Juniper nodded.

“I’ll be there in a second, Grandma,” she said. “Um, Thena?”

“Yeah?” Juniper blushed brightly, drew in a deep breath...and quickly kissed Athena on the lips.

“Good luck tomorrow!”

“Oh!” Athena felt her face grow warm. “Thank you, Junie...I know we can do it, with you rooting for us!” Juniper and Sunflora ran inside, and as she left with her co-worker and her boss, Athena couldn’t help touching her fingers to her lips.

_I thought things hadn’t changed between us after all, after the Academy trial...but maybe they have._

She smiled, patting the bulge of the orange tucked away in her purse. Regardless of the outcome of tomorrow’s trial, she wondered if Juniper had any plans for the evening.


	8. Misty Revisited

**_October 11th, 2028_ **

**_7pm_ **

**_Detention Center_ **

 

They stopped for dinner at Eldoon’s before their second trip to the detention center. It was amazing how over-salted noodles could be considered comfort food after you ate it enough times, but it was just what they needed right now. Even with the somewhat successful investigations, Phoenix knew all too well that the battle hadn’t even begun yet. The real test always came in the courtroom.

_ And we still don’t know who’s prosecuting the case _ , he thought. Edgeworth hadn’t said anything when they’d talked, just that he was going to make sure they were “perfect” for the job and that they were as concerned with finding the truth as he was. _ With any luck we’ll be facing Prosecutor Gavin. Even with his air-guitar and constant hitting on Apollo, he’s still the sanest we’ve ever faced besides Edgeworth. _

Misty looked like she’d just woken up when she came to the window, but thankfully she also looked a little calmer than when they’d seen her that morning.

“So what did you find?” she asked. Phoenix pulled the scrunchie out of the evidence pack and held it up.

“You and your friends stayed at Laurel Woods’s residence recently, didn’t you?” Misty gasped.

“My scrunchie! I couldn’t find it anywhere before we left, so I just gave up and bought a cheap replacement.” She pointed to the thin white thing holding up her ponytail. “I took my hair down so I could relax under a tree, and I thought I’d put the scrunchie in my pocket.” She frowned. “Wait, why were you investigating the Woods house?”

“That’s another reason we came here,” Athena said. “The first thing we noticed was that half a bush’s worth of Razz berries was missing from the garden, and that someone messed with the dirt leading up to it.”

“And one of the Pidgey who hangs out there found pieces of a nail or claw, we can’t tell which,” Apollo added. “How long ago did you guys stay over there?”

“Last weekend,” Misty said. “And the bush was full while we were there, too.”

“Don’t worry, we know you wouldn’t have taken any,” Phoenix said. “Ms. Woods stated that the theft happened the same night the incident took place. In fact, just before we left the Woods residence, we thought that...well, maybe that’s why the incident happened.”

“Huh?” Misty frowned. “I don’t follow.”

“What the boss means is that maybe the reason Ash got beaten up is that he ran into the thief on their way back from robbing Junie and her grandma, because they didn’t want him to squeal on them,” Athena said. “We can’t know for sure until the trial, of course, but…”

“But it still makes sense,” Misty said. “I imagine you’ve dealt with plenty of cases like that.”

“Quite a few, yes,” Phoenix said, thinking of how he’d first met Maggey.

“But my scrunchie...won’t it being there get me in even more trouble?” Misty asked.

“I’m afraid we may need to bring it up in court,” Apollo said, “but only so we can uncover the truth. And if it helps, everyone seems to be on your side.” Misty managed a smile.

“That’s good, at least. Seems like every time someone’s a suspect, the whole world turns against them, famous or not.”

“Tell me about it,” Athena muttered. Apollo looked away guiltily for a second, only for Athena to poke him sharply. “Don’t do that.”

“But-”

“Guys.” Phoenix held up his hand. It had been nearly a year since that trial, but Apollo still seemed to feel guilty at the memory while Athena just wanted to move on.  _ Can’t say I blame either of them, though. Athena doesn’t want to remember those dark times, and who would? But if I’d ever suspected Edgeworth or Maya… _ He sighed. “Misty, did you notice anything suspicious the night you, Ash, and Brock stayed with the Woods’?”

“No, not really,” Misty said. “Other than there being more bugs than usual!”

“It’s fall, so Bug-types tend to be more active in the forest to prepare for winter,” Phoenix explained.

“I know, but that doesn’t mean I have to like it,” Misty said, making a face. Phoenix smiled.  _ Everyone has a fear of something, and Gym Leaders are no exception. _

“I do have some good news, though. Ash has finally been stabilized and is only unconscious now, so the only thing to worry about is when he wakes up.” Misty’s eyes filled with tears, but this time she was smiling more than Phoenix had seen her smile all day.

“Oh, thank Celebi! I was so scared...I-I was afraid he wouldn’t make it, that idiot!” she cried. But Phoenix saw Athena’s gaze intensity, she was definitely picking up something in Misty’s words. After a moment, though, Misty’s smile faded. “But I probably won’t get to see him when he wakes up, will I?”

“I wish I could say they’d make an exception for you, but even if they believe in your innocence the law is still the law,” Phoenix sighed. “Maybe they’ll let you call him from a videophone, though. It can’t hurt to ask.”

“Speaking of videophones,” Apollo began, “I just realized I forgot to ask Red his Pokégear number or give him my cellphone’s.”

Misty frowned. “Kanto’s Champion? But why would he-” she stopped as her eyes widen. “Oh… That’s right. Red and Ash are…” She paused. “Are they brothers or cousins? Ash never really explained their relationship.”

“Double cousins,” Apollo answered, presenting to her his copy of  _ Johto Weekly _ . Misty stared at the cover like she was trying to shoot lasers out of her eyes.

“I think I’ve seen him before,” she commented. “I do remember seeing a trainer with that jacket before, at the Cerulean Gym. Yeah… I think that was Red.” She frowned again. “The angle of that photo kinda makes it hard to see his face properly, though.”

Apollo nodded, flipping through the pages of the magazine until he found the one that had the photo of the Ketchum twins with Ash. “It’s not the most recent picture, but it is the biggest picture after the glamour shot,” he explained as he showed it to her.

She sat straight up, looking closer as possible at the image. “Are you pulling my leg?!  _ That’s _ what Red looks like?! You’d think Ash would be his twin brother! ...And the girl is?”

“Red’s actual twin, Leaf,” Apollo explained. “She’s apparently not participating in the battle circuit, so it’s likely you haven’t heard of her.”

“Ash probably mentioned her in passing, so I actually don’t,” Misty admitted. “It’s strange, he doesn’t talk about his family as often as you might think he would...I mean, he talks about his mom, of course, and about how his dad’s doing some really important work, but…” She laughed a little. “It’s weird, he tended to brag a lot about everything else in the beginning, and Brock and I always had to talk him down.” She frowned. “Maybe a little too much...maybe that’s why he doesn’t talk about Red.”

“I’m sure that’s not your fault,” Athena said. “He probably had his reasons.”

“It could be Ash didn’t take Red’s departure well,” Phoenix suggested. “Considering that Red told us he sees Ash as a brother, it’s very likely it’s the other way around, too. And when someone you treasure, in whatever way, leaves you behind…” He sighed. “It hurts. So much that sometimes you don’t want to talk about them even if they’re always on your mind.” He slid a hand into his pocket, feeling a certain old and battered keychain. He’d never admit this to anyone, not wanting to be selfish, but the biggest reason he was happy Edgeworth was Chief Prosecutor now was that he would have more reason to stay in Kanto.  _ That he won’t keep leaving me behind. _

“So he’s a little mad at Red, then? Or just upset?” Misty ventured. “I guess that makes sense. If my sisters left me behind, I wouldn’t want to talk about them, either.”

“It’s hard when someone leaves you behind,” Apollo added, pain clouding his eyes for a split second before he cleared his throat and smiled brightly. “But Red’s back now, so…”

“So I’m sure Ash will talk about him much more in the future!” Athena offered. Misty smiled a little.

“I hope so. I hope he brags and exaggerates and makes the dumbest jokes possible…!” She wiped at her eyes, sniffling. “A-and he better get me that bike he promised, too! One of these days...maybe for Christmas?” She sighed. “Who am I kidding, I don’t even care about that dumb bike right now!”

“Bike?” Phoenix blinked. “Am I missing something?”

“Long story,” Misty muttered. “Also, I guess I’m not getting my scrunchie back right away, am I?”

“Not until we don’t need it anymore,” Phoenix said. “Hopefully it won’t be that long.”

“I thought so. Evidence and everything.” Misty ran a hand through her hair, which was starting to come out of its ponytail and go limp. “I think I’d like to try to get some sleep, though. I’ve got a busy day sitting in the defendant’s chair hoping the prosecutor isn’t too rough on me,” she said. That reminded Phoenix of how he wished he’d pressed Edgeworth more about who he’d be up against. All he knew was that this time it wasn’t Prosecutor Blackquill.

“We’ll let you sleep, then,” he said.

“And don’t worry, Misty,” Athena said. “Everything’s going to be fine! We’ll work our hardest for you, and for Ash and Red, too!”

“Hang in there.” Apollo smiled, though Phoenix could tell both his protegés were getting exhausted and feeling gloomy. Even if everyone believed in the defendant, even if the prosecutor would be a breath of fresh air after all the feathers hurled at him, there was no sugarcoating the situation.  _ They’re only children, this isn’t right! _

The trio said their farewells for the night, and each one headed back to their residence with a heavy heart.


	9. A Friend in Need

**_October 11, 2028_ **

**_8pm_ **

**_Apollo Justice’s apartment_ **

 

“I’m home,” Apollo announced, sighing after speaking. Mikeko meowed happily in greeting from her perch that was the top of the sofa.

“Oh, hey, welcome home,” Clay greeted from the kitchen area, in the middle of preparing some tea for the two of them. While probably not as delicious as the ones Metis used to prepare, it was something that wasn’t as hard to prepare as the astronaut expected. “How did the meeting with the cousin go? I know that the Kanto Champion’s the mysterious sort, but considering he’s really close to his family...”

Apollo grimaced. “Yeah, Red isn’t taking this well.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “And just saying that’s pretty much an understatement.”

“Who could blame him for being upset?” Clay began to pour the tea into the mugs, his Lunatone hovering nearby, watching. “Even coming close to losing a family member...it's something no one deserves.” He silently passed him one of the mugs.

“Thanks.” Apollo took a careful sip. “To be honest, I… I couldn't help but empathize with him.”

Which didn’t surprise Clay, really. It wasn’t that long ago he’d awakened in the hospital, and he remembered Apollo's very emotional reaction.  _ I don’t know who cried harder, him or Dad.  _ “I thought so.”

“...I hope he's alright.” The lawyer absentmindedly touched the patterns on his bracelet.

Clay frowned, putting a hand on his friend’s shoulder. “Are you going to be all right helping with this case?”

Apollo gave him a smile. “I have you around,” he pointed out.

“And you always will,” Clay said, squeezing his shoulder. “Does Red has anyone with him?”

There was a slight frown that appeared on Apollo’s face. “I think he’s got an acquaintance? One of Ash’s friends from his home met up with Mr. Wright at the hospital, and that friend went up to meet with Red at the inn he’s staying at.” He sighed, Clay feeling his shoulder go tense. “I still could’ve left my cellphone number to him, in case he needed an ear.”

“Do you have his number?”

“For his Pokégear? No.” Apollo then snapped his fingers. “But I can call the front desk at the inn he’s staying, so maybe I should check on him.”

_ Yup, that’s totally Apollo, always worried about people he cares about. _ Clay patted his friend’s shoulder. “If talking to him’s gonna make you feel better, you should go for it.”

“Alright.” Apollo walked over to the videophone, taking out the inn’s business card for the front desk’s number, and dial it. A few minutes after talking to the receptionist, she managed to get Red to a connected videophone. The youth was carrying not just his Pikachu on his shoulder, but an Espeon from what Apollo guessed was sitting on Red’s lap.

The Espeon’s face grew closer as they sniffed the videophone. “Ivan,” Red chastised the Psychic Pokémon, pulling him closer, “not too close.” He passed a hand through his hair. “Oh, hey there, Mr. Justice.”

“Hey there, Red,” Apollo greeted. “I see that you’ve got another member of your team with you.”

Red let a tiny smile twitch his lips. “Yeah. I don’t know if Mr. Wright told you, but a friend of mine met up with me and… well, let’s just say I needed Ivan’s psychic abilities in case someone tries to sneak up on us. I did mention before that I suspected that someone attacked Ash to get back at me, well… they might try to do something with Gary.”

“It’s not a bad idea,” Apollo noted. “Where is he at the moment?”

“Sleeping in his room.” Red frowned. “Came here on little sleep. I mean, I don’t blame him for wanting to come here as fast as possible, but sleep’s important for growing bodies.” He quickly slapped a hand to his mouth. “Arceus no, I’m starting to talk like my mother,” he realized.

Apollo couldn’t help but laugh. “I don’t think it’s a bad thing if it’s true, Red.” He paused. “Anything else that’s new?”

Red shook his head. “No, just more people wanting to interview me. What part of ‘leave me to cope with what happened’ do they do not understand?!”

Clay walked over to the videophone. “Sounds like they just wanna interview you for interview’s sakes,” he pointed out.

“Unfortunately, that’s journalism for you,” the Champion noted bitterly. “The interview with  _ Johto Weekly _ was with a journalist that’s got a really good reputation among the Elite Four and Lance, which is why I agreed to it in the first place.” Red frowned once again. “Sorry, I forgot to introduce myself, didn’t I? Mr. Justice probably already talked about me to you, but just for formalities, I’m Red Ketchum.”

“I didn’t introduce myself, either,” Clay realized, scratching his cheek. “I’m Apollo’s best friend and roommate, Clay Terran. It’s nice to meet you, Red.”

“It’s nice to meet you as well, Mr. Terran.” Red passed a hand through his dark colored hair. “So, Mr. Justice, did you called me just to check up on me?”

Apollo’s smile was a little twitchy, Clay noticed. “That easy to tell?”

Red’s lips turned into a teasing smirk. “You’re kinda easy to read, Mr. Justice,” he pointed out.

Clay couldn’t help but chuckle; of course the Champion would notice. “He always has been,” he explained.

The red-clad lawyer spun to face his best friend. “Wh-what?” His voice suddenly rose an octave. “Clay!” Clay shrugged, patting Apollo on the shoulder.

“That's not a bad thing! I've always liked how open you were!”

To those words, Red’s smirk got bigger, his Pikachu mimicrying the expression. The Espeon’s only reaction was his ears twitching. “So, best friends, huh.” The twinkle in the youth’s eyes wasn’t hard to miss, Clay noticed. Almost like the Champion was aware of something unnoticeable to the two adults.

Clay decided then to change the subject. “You’ve got quite a cute Pikachu,” he mentioned.

Red patted the electric mouse’s head. “This is Taranis. He’s one of my best Pokémon friends, and he takes after me…” That was when a mix between a roar and a growl was heard, and Red looked over to the side. “I’m not as derpy as Tary is? Uh, Ignatius, first of all,  _ rude _ , and second of all, you know there’s more to Taranis than that.” He turned back to the videophone. “Sorry, that was my Charizard, he’s also playing bodyguard out of sight.”

“Makes sense,” Apollo said. “The more people on lookout, the more likely you’ll catch someone.”

Clay sighed. “It’s great that you can communicate so well with your Pokémon. Sometimes I wish I knew what Lunatone was thinking so easily. He's so hard to read.”

Apollo turned to his friend, an eyebrow cocked. “Isn’t he a Psychic-type?”

“With a Shy Nature,” Clay pointed out.

Red brought a finger against his lips. “How long have you had him?”

“Since my astronaut training in Hoenn,” Clay explained. “But I caught him shortly before HAT-2 was supposed to happen, and, well…” He absentmindedly traced his finger against his chest, hoping Red didn’t notice. “We really didn’t had much time to bond.”

“That’s explainable.” Red gestured towards the Charizard outside of view. “Ignis’ my Starter, and it didn't take long for us to form a bond, either. Even when I had trouble taking on Brock with him and Tary…”

“The first one is always the strongest bond you form, I think,” Clay noted, thinking of Torterra.

Apollo nodded to that. “You already had Taranis when facing Brock, huh. Where did you meet him, Red?”

“In Viridian Forest, and Tary was my Pokémon of choice when I challenged Misty’s sister,” Red said. “Tary and Ash’s own Pikachu are brothers, Tary being the youngest.” He rubbed the right side of his neck, and Apollo could feel a slight squeeze from his bracelet. “I caught them both, then I sent one of them to Professor Oak for a study he was planning to do.” He paused, his hand lingering against his neck. “Apparently, Ash overslept the day he was to get his starter, so Professor Oak gave him the spare Pikachu. At least, that’s what Professor Oak told me when I called him, right before I learned…” His expression fell flat.

Silence stretched before Apollo spoke up. “Is there anything you need, Red?”

Red removed his hand from his neck to rub his arm. “I just need to know Ash will be okay for sure. I want to see him...I want to know who  _ really _ did this.” He shook his head. “And I want to know who dared set up Misty for this. ...I can’t help shake the feeling whoever did this is trying to get back at me.”

“I wish I had an answer, Red, but we don’t,” Apollo sighed. “Like Mr. Wright said, that's why we took on the case.”

“I really need to thank you for that,” Red said, a small, sad smile on his lips. “And thank you for calling me. I feels a little better now that I've been able to talk about this.” He grasped his arm. “I honestly feel like a bad older brother. I’ve left him alone when I went to Mount Silver, and Gary, Leaf and I were the only kids in Pallet who actually were friends with him.”

Apollo blinked a few times. “Really? From what I heard, Ash is a kindhearted kid who can make friends with everyone…”

“Yeah,  _ outside _ of Pallet, that is. But back home, he used to catch all kinds of guff over his dad not being around very much,” Red sighed. “Some people used to spread rumors about him being a deadbeat or a bad trainer or even joining Team Rocket out of sheer stupidity, and their kids would give Ash a bad time about it.”

Clay grimaced. “That’s… that’s pretty cruel. I’m amazed Ash managed to be, well, Ash despite that.”

“I’m amazed I managed to be myself, too. Leaf and I had to deal with the same thing until she was capable of fighting back.” There was an uneasy chuckle from the youth. “She offered the same protection to Ash, but...he wouldn’t let her. I think he was embarrassed.”

“Yeah, cause at that age boys don’t like the idea of being protected by girls,” Clay said. “We can be pretty dumb like that!”

“I must’ve been an exception, then.” Red shook his head. “Leaf was always the strongest of us two, or at least that’s how it felt for me. It’s like she always know how to cheer me up, no matter what’s going on. So I’m hoping I’m able to contact her soon,” he said.

“It sounds awful having to grow up with all that bullying, though,” Apollo said. “Of all I had to put up with in my childhood, that’s the one thing I managed to avoid. Though I didn’t have a real best friend until Clay here.” Clay just barely managed not to blush at that.

“But anyway! I’m sure once you get to see Ash and talk to him, everything will be fine,” he said. “I mean...I  _ hope _ so.” He’d never met Ash, so there was no way of predicting how he’d react.

“I hope so, too,” Red admitted. He frowned as he checked his Pokégear. “I should go, it’s almost bedtime. Sorry for cutting this conversation short.”

Apollo waved it off. “Don’t worry about it. I’ll probably see you tomorrow, if I can.” He smiled at the youth. “Good night, Red.”

“Good night, Mr. Justice, Mr. Terran.” And with that, the screen flickered black.

Clay waited until the afterimage vanished. “...He's so worried. Even when he smiles and talks of other things, it's all over his face…” Especially Red’s eyes. There was some sort of spark missing in them that most 13 year olds had.

“But that’s good,” Apollo said. “At least he’s showing some kind of emotion. Keeping the stoic Champion mask won’t do him any good at a time like this...or in the long run, really.” Clay nodded, running a finger over his chest.  _ That’s something those two have in common, all right _ . When Apollo had burst into tears upon seeing him open his eyes, Clay just had the gut feeling that it was the first time since the incident he’d shown any emotion.

“I’m sorry,” he said at length. “I mean, for all the pain you must have gone through, thinking I was dead.” Apollo frowned, putting a hand on his shoulder.

“Clay…”

“I really thought I was going to die that day. If Mr. Starbuck hadn’t…” He shook his head. Something had always bugged him about that, the nurses telling him how his mentor saved his life by waking up and screaming, but… “Apollo, you know how I drugged Mr. Starbuck, right?” He still felt a sharp pang of guilt about that, even though Mr. Starbuck had forgiven him and Director Cosmos had taken all responsibility for the failed plan. “I gave him the right dose, didn’t I?” Apollo raised an eyebrow.

“According to the report, you did. Why are you asking all of a sudden?”

“It doesn’t make sense, then. I had a feeling I’d given him the right amount, but the nurses, they said he woke up and saved me. But if he didn’t, then how…” He sighed. “How am I still alive?”

“Come to think of it...remember when you woke up? You muttered something about sleeping through the launch,” Apollo said. “You didn’t seem in a lot of pain at the time, either.”

“It just felt like I’d had a really long nap,” Clay said. “And look.” He peeled off his shirt, pointing to the faint line on his chest. “You’d expect a stab wound to leave more of a scar behind, right?” Apollo actually seemed to blush for a split second before eyeing the mark.

“Did the doctors say anything?”

“No,” Clay said. “By all accounts that knife should’ve killed me, but here I am.” Apollo gnawed at his thumbnail for a moment.

“This might sound strange, but maybe a Pokemon healed you. Even the best modern medicine can’t cure scars,” he said, then suddenly snapped his fingers. “The tag! The tag the police found not too far from your body in the boarding lounge…” Clay’s eyes widened.

“You can’t mean…?!”

“Yes. The one associated with Jirachi.” Clay shivered, his heart skipping a beat. Jirachi, the legendary wishmaker. He’d grown up with the stories as a child and learned even more during his training in Hoenn. Sometimes, on the nights where he missed her the most, he’d thought about wishing for Jirachi to let him see his mother one last time and hear her voice.

“Jirachi, huh.” He smiled a little. “So the stories are true after all. It does really grant wishes.”

“Now I know who to thank for bringing you back to me alive,” Apollo said, patting Clay’s shoulder...then he blushed again, looking away. “Put your shirt back on, by the way.”

“Oh yeah.” Clay hurriedly pulled his t-shirt back over his head. “But anyway...yeah, I was so afraid I was gonna die, I wished to live. If I’d known Jirachi really did grant such wishes…” He smiled sadly. “I might have asked to see my mother again after all.”

“I don’t blame you for that,” Apollo said, squeezing his hand. Clay squeezed back, biting his lip as his eyes began to mist over.

“She never even got to see me fulfill my dream. That’s selfish, but…” He shook his head. “Sorry, you don’t need me getting all weepy right now. Not when you’re dealing with the attempted murder of a kid.” Apollo’s face hardened at the reminder.

“I just can’t believe someone would do such a sick thing,” he said. “Who would try to kill a  _ twelve-year old _ ?! And then frame _ another _ twelve-year old for it?!”

“Someone with no decency, morals, or brains in their head,” Clay muttered. “I said this before, but I’ll say it again, Apollo. I’ll do anything I can to help you out.” Apollo smiled thinly.

“You’re already playing the role of my sounding board,” he said. “That helps a lot.”

“My ears are always yours,” Clay said, “and so’s my shoulder, anytime you need it.” Apollo blinked, then raised an eyebrow at him.

“Sometimes I can’t tell if you’re comforting or flirting with me.” Whoops, Clay thought, feeling his face go warm. He’d gotten a similar response a few weeks ago, it was a wonder Apollo hadn’t picked up on it.

“N-now why would you think that?”

“It’s your tone of voice,” Apollo said, and Clay’s blush deepened.

“Sorry,” he said, rubbing the back of his neck. “Didn’t realize I was doing it.” Apollo shrugged, smiling.

“No big deal, really! I mean…” Suddenly, he blinked. “Huh. I just noticed something.”

“Hm?”

“You look like them,” Apollo said. “I mean, like Red and Ash. Clay...is it possible you’re related to any of the Ketchums?” Woah, Clay thought. Related to the Champion?

“I don’t know,” he said. “I mean, my Dad’s side is the Terran side, and his mother’s maiden name was Peterson. But as for Mom’s side…” He shook his head. “I honestly don’t know. I haven’t heard from them since she died, they kinda cut off all contact with Dad and I and we never bothered to reach out to them.” He bit his lip, thinking of the cold glares from his maternal grandparents at Mom’s funeral. How they’d basically blamed Dad for the accident, simply because he hadn’t been there to protect Mom from.. _.from what? Some guy spinning out of control from a flat tire? The rain? Mom not being able to pull over before things got that bad? _

“Sorry.” Apollo’s voice brought him back to the present, followed by a hand on his arm. Clay smiled a little.

“No, it’s okay. Honestly, I never tried to get in touch with them again because it hurt too much and I thought they hated me,” he said. “But I dunno, maybe I should try again. It can’t hurt just to ask, right?” It was mostly his grandparents and his aunt who’d shunned them, his cousins had just been little kids at the time and his uncle was Mr. Neutral.

“Wouldn’t it feel weird, though?” Apollo asked. “Being related to someone so famous?”

“I dunno, maybe. It’d probably be a pretty distant relation, though, otherwise I’d have at least known him when he was still a baby,” Clay said. “He’s ten years younger than me, after all.”

“True,” Apollo said. “I guess I was just wondering how Ash must have felt, challenging the Indigo League knowing his cousin was the Champion.”

“If I were Ash...I admit, I’d wonder if I’d disappointed Red by not even coming close to his level,” Clay sighed. “It can be hard, following in someone’s footsteps.” He’d never personally had that problem, but he remembered a classmate of his and Apollo’s fussing over it in college. Apollo frowned.

“I hope Red tells him that’s not the case, then...he probably will, though. Just by talking to Red, you can tell how much Ash means to him.” He sighed, closing his eyes for a moment. “This whole thing is like deja vu,” he murmured. Clay bit his lip.

“But Ash is alive. He’ll recover, right? And he’ll have plenty of time to follow his dreams.” He put a hand on Apollo’s shoulder. “I can’t imagine what his mother’s going through.”

“Or his father,” Apollo said. “He’s apparently all the way in Kalos, that’s so far from here. Too far even to take a private plane to visit. And that’s not even getting into Ash’s aunt and Red’s twin, Leaf…”

“This kid sure is loved,” Clay mused. “Did someone just really want to get Misty in hot water? Or did they just hate Ash for no reason?” Apollo clenched a fist.

“If it’s the latter, they have no soul,” he muttered. “How could anyone hate such a good person that much?! From what Red’s told me, he’s got a big heart and he’d never hurt anyone, all he wants is to become a great trainer and make friends with Pokemon!” He sighed. “I’m so tired, but I can’t go to bed this angry…!” Clay hugged him again, at a loss for what else to do.

“I’m sorry. I wish I could do more right now.” Apollo leaned against him, closing his eyes.

“You’re my soundboard. That’s all I really need now,” he said. “If I had to keep this bottled up, I’d explode.”

“I know.” Clay tightened his arms. “But everything’s going to be okay, Apollo. It’s going to be fine.”

“Thanks, Clay,” Apollo murmured. “I wish I’d been able to convince Red of that, but...I know all too well what he’s going through.” He stifled a yawn, and Clay led him over to the couch to get them settled down.

“Still not ready to sleep yet? Maybe a bad movie or two would help,” he suggested. Apollo smiled a little.

“I’d be down for some Mystery Science Theater.” Clay grinned.

“You know I’m always on board with that! And popcorn?”

“Dill pickle flavoring?”

“Perfect. And  _ Fugitive Alien _ ?” Apollo nodded, already looking a bit brighter. He found the DVD and put it in while Clay fixed the popcorn and some more tea for them. They bundled together on the couch, under the well-worn blanket, and soon he could feel Apollo relaxing. Ultimately, Apollo didn’t even make it to the end of the episode before he fell asleep, nestled against Clay’s chest.

_ I could fall asleep like this every night _ , Clay thought, brushing his hand over Apollo’s hair. The warmth of Apollo’s body molded so perfectly to his, his breath against his shoulder, how at peace Apollo was for the moment despite everything.

“Sleep well,” he whispered, unable to resist brushing a kiss against that cute forehead.


	10. The Battle Begins

**_October 12, 2028_ **

**_9:45am_ **

**_Defendant Lobby_ **

 

“I called Red this morning,” Apollo mentioned. “He’s staying at the inn, in case either Leaf calls him or Ash wakes up.”

“We’ll have to call him and let him know how the trial went,” Phoenix said. “I can’t blame him for wanting to stay behind, though, courtrooms are stressful enough without everything he’s dealing with.”

“Is he feeling any better?” Misty asked.

“Only a little,” Apollo said. “He’s...hanging in there. But how are you doing, Misty? Did you sleep okay?”

“As much as I could on that stupid hard bed,” Misty grumbled. “I’ll never complain about sleeping on the ground again, no matter how many bugs are hanging around!”

“They’re hard on the back, that’s for sure,” Athena said. “But hopefully by tonight you’ll be sleeping on a real bed again!” Misty offered a tiny smile.

“If everyone believes in me like you say, I hope for that, too.”

“By the way, I saw Remilia Joy on my way to the lobby,” Apollo noted. “Did you call her for the trial, Mr. Wright?”

“I did, yes,” Phoenix said. “Ash’s medical information and the stats on his condition could be extremely useful. Remember, there’s still the possibility a wild Pokemon got him, and we need to rule out whatever didn’t happen.”

“Hope I’m not late.” Phoenix turned around to see Brock standing nearby, looking a bit tired. “Sorry I wasn’t much help yesterday, I had my hands full with all the Pokemon. Pikachu didn’t sleep well, and Togepi was up half the night crying,” he said. “Arceus, it sounds like I’m a dad talking about his kids.”

“Hey, Pokemon  _ are _ like kids!” Trucy said. “And hey, if you need any help taking care of them I’m available all day! No shows coming up, and Daddy usually has me watch the office while he’s investigating unless he needs extra hands.” She grinned. “It’d be like playing house!” Phoenix raised an eyebrow.

“Are you sure about that, Trucy? Usually you hate being left behind.”

“Well…” She was blushing. “It won’t be so bad if I’m not alone!” _ Oh, boy, Phoenix thought, she’s got it bad for him. Or...she’s getting it bad for him. I don’t want to be an overprotective ass like those TV dads, but… _

“We’ll discuss it later,” he said. “Brock, are you ready to act as a witness for this trial? The nurse tells me you know quite a bit about what happened as well, and you were at the hospital when they admitted him.” Brock nodded.

“I’ll do the best I can. I want to get to the bottom of this as much as anyone!”

  
  


**_October 12th, 2028_ **

**_10am_ **

**_District Courtroom 4_ **

 

When they finally went into the courtroom, Phoenix found himself staring into the face of the past. Reflexively, he flinched.

“M-Ms. von Karma! You’re-”

“The prosecutor for this case, yes,” Franziska said smoothly, “but worry not, Phoenix Wright. Miles explained everything to me in great detail, and my goal is the truth. I refuse to let a child go to prison.” Phoenix remembered then that Franziska had a niece not much older than Ash and Misty, and wondered if there was a little something personal in her reasoning as well. But even if not, it was good to know he _ might _ be spared the wrath of her whip this once.

“W-well, it certainly is lovely to see you again, Ms. von Karma,” the judge said. “Ah, but I must ask that you spare me the whip! I’m not as young as I used to be, I don’t think I could take it!”  _ Really?  _ Phoenix thought.  _ You weren’t that young the first few times, either. I always suspected you were just made of iron. _

“I suppose so, provided His Honor doesn’t say anything foolish,” Franziska said. “Hopefully, the only one I will have to whip is the true culprit.” Beside Phoenix, Athena raised an eyebrow.

“I thought those stories about the whip were just an exaggeration,” she whispered. “She’s not gonna hit us, is she, boss?”

“Yeah, Blackquill’s feathers were bad enough,” Apollo muttered. But the judge was calling for the trial to begin, Franziska was as ready as she ever was, and Ema was coming up to the stand clutching her bag of Snackoos. In this case, Phoenix didn’t think anyone would blame her.  
  


 

Once the detective finished talking, it was his turn. Brock took a deep breath, trying to calm the Butterfrees in his stomach and the Spearows drill-pecking in his heart.  _ Even with everyone on Misty’s side, I can’t mess this up. I wish I knew more! Even after everything Mr. Wright and his team and Ms. Remilia told us, we still don’t know what happened and the court system’s so delicate! Anything could cause a slip-up and accidentally incriminate Misty! _

But she was safe, that much he could be grateful for. He hated to see her sitting in the detention center an emotional wreck, he knew she was far from okay, but at least he knew she was physically healthy. It was a good thing the guards didn’t rough up kids, and that the chief of police seemed to have a soft spot for them.

Ash, on the other hand...he’d survive, but who knew what kind of damage had been done? Even with the healing waters of the lake fixing the physical damage, there was no telling how bad the emotional damage had been, and Brock was sure there would be some. Ash had gotten himself out of near-death situations before and come out smiling as always, but this time…

This time, someone had clearly wanted him dead. Mr. Wright had suggested a wild Pokemon attack, but Brock knew all too well that wild Pokemon went for the body, not the face. The body was where the ‘meat’ was, they’d never waste time destroying the target’s face like Ash’s had almost been.

_ I should have double-checked to make sure the woods were completely safe. I thought we’d be fine where we pitched camp, no Ursarings or Pinsirs wandering around. The Iron Masked Marauder’s in jail. I thought we’d be safe...Arceus, why didn’t I double check?! _

He forced himself back to the present. Detective Skye was stepping down, and it was his turn to go up to the stand...and face a very pretty prosecutor, he realized. Brock couldn’t help grinning a little.  _ Maybe this won’t be so bad after all, huh. _

"State your name, please."

"Brock, leader of the Pewter City Gym! And I might add, lady prosecutor, you can hold me in contempt any _ owwwwwwwwwwww! _ " Somehow, one lash of that whip hurt more than any attacks from wild Pokemon or crawling through bramble bushes ever had. It was the first time a girl had ever outright  _ attacked  _ him instead of brushing him off.

"That was your first warning. Do it again and I will not be so merciful," the lady warned. Brock winced, holding his arm.

“Yes, ma’am.” The judge sighed.

“Prosecutor von Karma, as uncalled for as that flirting was, please don’t attack innocent seventeen-year-olds. Especially if you want them to cooperate.” The lady flinched, gave the judge a surprised look, but quickly pulled herself together.

“Now,” she said sternly, “please tell us every detail of the night your young friend was attacked, everything you can remember.” Brock nodded, steeling himself as he dug up every painful detail he’d been unsuccessful in fully burying. The sight of the blood, hearing the ambulance sirens in the distance, running all the way to the hospital, the sight of Ash unconscious on a gurney.

_ It’s like it happened just yesterday. I’ll never be able to forget any of this as long as I live. _

“Did you see anything that might suggest Misty had attacked him?” Ms. von Karma asked.

“Other than her name written in handwriting that obviously wasn’t Ash’s? No, nothing of the sort. I saw her footprints, but they were leading  _ to _ the scene, rather than away.” He saw Mr. Wright turn to Ms. Cykes and whisper something.  _ Did I say something weird? _ But then the judge was turning to Mr. Wright.

“The defense may begin its cross-examination,” he said.

“When you say the handwriting wasn’t Ash’s...can you elaborate? We saw the message, but we never examined the style of writing itself,” Mr. Wright said. Brock dug in his pocket, finding a postcard Ash had written from the Orange Islands the previous summer, and Golbat flew it over to the defense.

“This is what Ash’s writing looks like,” he said. “It’s legible, but just barely. Ash is known to hurry along with certain things when he’s busy, and that includes writing letters or postcards.”

“I see…” Mr. Wright and his assistants eyed the card. “The writing on the tree wasn’t exactly quality penmanship, but it looked very clear, nothing like this. Bold letters, almost like they were written very slowly.”

“And if the victim had been bleeding that severely,” Prosecutor von Karma said, “he’d have lost consciousness before he finished writing more than two letters, three at most.”

“Exactly!” Mr. Wright said, clearly surprised for some reason. The judge nodded.

“The postcard will be accepted into the court record as official evidence,” he said.

“Tell me, Brock,” Mr. Wright began, “was there anything else suspicious about this writing? Misty mentioned something you’d said about the blood itself when we visited her yesterday.” Ah, yes, the scent. It had been a little too subtle for him to be sure, and he’d wondered if it was just his own sense of smell. But he still had his suspicions.

“It didn’t have the metallic scent associated with real blood,” he said. “It smelled a bit like berry juice. I didn’t get the best sniff of it, but I do wonder.” Beside Mr. Wright, Ms. Cykes sat bolt upright and narrowed her eyes.

“If the blood happened to be berry juice, that explains what happened to Junie’s Razz bush!”

“Ms Cykes?” the judge queried. “What’s this about?” Athena glanced to her boss, then when Mr. Wright nodded she leaned forward, so the rest of the court could hear.

“I went to visit Junie’s house yesterday,” she began. “She and her grandmother own a rest house just near the forest.” Right, Brock thought, the house he, Ash, and Misty had stayed at not long ago. Juniper Woods was a lovely young lady, he remembered, and her grandmother was kind and so casual, insisting they call her by her first name.

“I remember those Razz bushes,” he said. “Miss Juniper even let me take some to make jam with, so we’d have something tasty when we continued on our journey!” But the moment he said that, Ms. von Karma gave him a funny look.

“And just how many of those berries did you take, Pewter City Gym Leader Brock?”

“Objection!” Athena shouted. “We know Brock isn’t the thief, we have evidence!” Beside her, Mr. Justice pulled out a photograph.

“Ms. Woods said she found the bushes like this the night of the attack,” he said. Ms. von Karma gave him a dirty look, but calmed down and nodded her head a moment later.

“Of course,” she said, “I was merely testing the witness, that’s all. Of course, the evidence we have so far is a bit...dicey, in my opinion. The pieces fit in a sense, and yet…”

“And yet they might not,” Mr. Wright finished. “The writing and the berry theft could be two separate incidents, but I’m not convinced.”

“In fact, I have a theory that the thief is the one who attacked Ash!” Apollo said. The judge held up his hands and thumped his gavel, clearly looking confused.

“I think we should take this one step at a time, first!” Brock nodded.

“A chef doesn’t make a good stew by throwing everything into the pot at once, after all,” he said. So the cross-examination continued, and while taking it one piece at a time made things easier it still didn’t feel like they were any closer to finding the truth. Even knowing court procedures took time, he wasn’t feeling very patient. Not with one of his best friends in the hospital and no one knowing how he got there, and not with the other accused of being the reason for it.

He was relieved when the cross-examination was over and the next witness took the stand. He wasn’t even sure how much headway he’d helped make, all he wanted to do was wait for recess so he could go and visit Ash.

  
  


"State your name and occupation."

With a professional tone of voice both calm and composed, the nurse began. "Remilia Joy, certified nurse at Olivine Hospital- I'm personally involved with the victim's care, and here to explain my superior's report on his behalf."

The judge nodded. "It's not very often medical professionals are called to the stand to explain evidence. Very well, Nurse Joy, you may begin."

"First of all," Remilia introduced as she opened her copy of the charts, "the current update on the victim's state. It's with good news I'm allowed to confirm that he's pulled through the worst, and is now merely unconscious. He could wake up at any moment now." Whispering was heard throughout the gallery. “Thanks to the Lake of Life, his wounds were healed when he was found, but we’ve managed to find what they originally were.

“The victim suffered from severe blood loss due to severe bone fractures at his nose and jaw, as well as internal bleeding around his ribs. He also lost some of his teeth, though the Lake of Life was able to restore his permanent ones.” Remilia brought her bangs back. “I’ve concluded that, if not a human, a human-shaped Pokémon such as Machoke or Hitmonchan that was released in the wild could have done this.”

“Machoke, I would guess,” Ms. von Karma said. “Hitmonchan are not found in the wild in Johto, or anywhere else I can think of.”

“Are Machoke native to the Arbor Forest?” the judge asked. “My grandchild caught one at Victory Road, but…”

“They don’t tend to hang out in forests,” Mr. Wright said slowly, looking more and more nervous by the moment. Ms. von Karma nodded, looking as if she were trying to smirk but only able to manage a queasy smile.

“The only two possibilities for a wild Pokemon attack are not wild to Arbor Forest, one not being wild at all. And…” She pulled out a thin sheet of paper. “Detective Skye provided to me a negative of the crime scene photo.” Mr. Wright turned pale, while his two protéges looked like they might be sick.

“This is…” The judge slowly examined it. “Oh, dear.”

“Exactly,” Ms. von Karma said. “ _ Human _ fingerprints and knuckle indentations still remained, even after the boy was thrown into the lake.” Remilia closed her eyes and clenched her fist.

“It’s what the doctor and I were afraid of.”

“N...n…” Mr. Wright buried his head in his hands. “ _ NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! _ ”

Remilia covered her face. “This is an absolute nightmare…”

The judge called for a recess, so Mr. Wright could recover (and possibly so anyone who was going to be sick could go do so, Remilia wouldn’t blame them). They hurried out to the defendant lobby, where Trucy was talking to a distraught Brock and Prosecutor von Karma was pacing angrily.

  
  


**_October 12, 2028_ **

**_10:56am_ **

**_Defendant Lobby_ **

 

A human had done it. The one possibility that could make this case slightly less horrifying was null and void, and while he didn’t blame Ema for doing her job thoroughly, he wished there was a way to prove the negatives wrong.

Usually, when undeniable evidence proved his theory wrong, Phoenix knew his case was taking a beating and he’d have to fight harder for his client’s innocence. But all today’s piece of undeniable evidence had proven was just  _ how _ sick and twisted some people were. A human being had gone after Ash with the intent of murdering him.

“So now what?” Athena asked, putting a hand on Misty’s shoulder. “Is Detective Skye going to run a print analysis?”

“I hope so,” Brock sighed. “That’ll at least prove it wasn’t Misty who attacked him, but still.”

“I just want to know who did it!” Misty said, her eyes full of angry tears. “I want to know who did it so I can wreck them the way they wrecked Ash!”

“No, Misty.” Brock shook his head. “That’s not gonna solve anything. Even if you knew you could get away with it, the damage is already done.”

Phoenix noticed that Apollo was typing furiously into his phone. “Who are you texting to, Apollo?”

The younger lawyer lift his head up before looking back to his phone. “Oh, I’m texting updates to Red. I know he’s not going to take this well, but someone needs to tell him what’s going on.” Athena winced, obviously feeling the dread in Apollo’s tone, and Phoenix nodded.

“He’d probably ask anyway. Even if the truth is painful, it’s best to know…” He shook his head. “At least he still knows Ash will wake up, though, and that he’ll recover.”

“To cause such damage to an innocent child,” Franziska muttered, her hand clenching her whip so tightly Phoenix thought it might break. “When we find out the truth, _ I  _ will be the one to punish the sick, depraved  _ bastard _ who did this!”

“Save some for me,” Misty said. She seemed so much angrier today, probably because now she knew more of the details.

“It could be a woman,” Apollo noted, before wincing. “Oh… Red’s definitely not taking this well. Gary’s texting me instead.” He shakes his head. “He just locked himself in his bathroom, and both Taranis and Ivan is trying to coax him out.”

“I hope he doesn’t crumble in on himself,” Franziska said. “Some people simply can’t handle such horrific news and fall apart on the spot, sometimes even…” She shuddered. “The boy should not be left alone.” Athena and Apollo looked confused, but Phoenix caught on instantly.

“Adrian,” he murmured. “But she’s been fine recently, hasn’t she?”

“For the past few years, yes. But she...did have a relapse while I was traveling with the International Police and discovered I’d been wounded on a sting operation. She didn’t try anything again, but…” Franziska had a faraway look in her eyes. “I’m still afraid to leave her alone. Even the difficulty of finding hotels that accept Shoe is worth knowing she’s safe.” And Phoenix thought of his own boyfriend, whom he worried about constantly and once in a while feared might actually get himself killed during an investigation.

“Ms. von Karma, you really love her, don’t you,” Athena murmured. “I hear it in your voice.”

Apollo thought back to Clay, and how he depended on him once the astronaut was discharged from the hospital. But those thoughts were quickly quashed when his phone beeped that a new message was sent. “‘I don’t know what to do’, is what Gary texted me.” He exhaled. “Mr. Wright, if it’s okay with you… I’d like to go and see Red.” And Phoenix remembered how Apollo had seemed to bond with Red the other day, and how much the two had in common.

“That’s probably a good idea,” he said. “Athena and I can handle the trial from here.” Athena nodded.

“Tell Red we’re working our hardest, okay? And we promise we’ll make things right.”

“I think the only thing that can make things right is if Ash wakes up,” Misty sighed. “That’s how I feel, anyway.”

“I think I should go to the hospital and check on him,” Brock said. “Trucy, will you come with me?”

Trucy turned to her father. “Dad, is that okay?” Phoenix almost said no, after thinking of how Brock had hit on Franziska and how Trucy really seemed to like him. But she hadn’t reacted to the incident, and Brock had behaved himself afterwards.

Besides, they were just going to visit a kid formerly in a coma, not to Veilstone for a weekend.

“Sure,” he said. “And you’ll probably go back to the office after, so make sure you feed Farfetch’d as soon as you get there.”

“Got it!” Trucy smiled, and she and Brock headed out of the building just as Laurel Woods entered alongside Juniper.

“Ms. Woods,” Phoenix said. “So you’ll be the next witness, or will Juniper?”

“I will be,” Laurel said. “My granddaughter isn’t too eager to take the stand anytime soon.” Juniper blushed a little.

“I could probably handle it this time, since I know Mr. Payne’s not even in the region anymore…but still, Grandma probably remembers more details. If you need me, though, I can come to the stand.” Phoenix nodded.

“So far, we’ve only been able to rule out the possibility of it being a wild Pokemon,” he sighed.

“The only possible ways for that to happen don’t even live in the forest,” Athena grumbled, crossing her arms over her chest. “I’m trying not to lose my cool here, but I’m so mad!”

“Oh, Thena,” Juniper sighed, going over to hug her. “You’ll find out who did it, and they’ll get what’s coming to them. And remember, this time you have the advantage.”

“I know,” Athena said, hugging Juniper back, resting her cheek against her hair. “Even the prosecutor’s on our side.” Franziska cleared her throat, reminding the group that she was still there.

“This is a very special case, mind you, and I will not hesitate to point out anything that points to the girl. As much as it pains me,” she said. “Hopefully nothing like that will come up, though.” She glanced towards Misty. “Children don’t belong in prison.” It was at this point Phoenix began to wonder if there was something else to her protectiveness besides thinking about her niece.

Apollo rubbed the back of his neck. “...I’d better go check on Red. Athena, if there’s any updates I should be aware, text me, alright?”

She nodded. “Leave it to me, Apollo. And say hi to him from all of us.”

He gave her a small smile. “Thanks, Athena, and I will tell him that. I’ll see you guys later, then!” As Apollo left, Franziska checked her phone.

“My brother and his partner will be stopping by briefly this evening,” she said. Phoenix let out a squeal, turning red almost immediately when Franziska smirked and Athena and Misty both laughed.

“Er, that’s great! We’ll compare notes and case files!” Franziska rolled her eyes.

“Over a romantic dinner and a glass of wine, I assume?”

“Well, probably takeout and a pot of coffee,” Phoenix said. “But it’ll be nice just to spend time with him.” Talking on the phone the other day had helped, but after finding out what they had today...Edgeworth wasn’t the overly nurturing sort, but he was better at being supportive than he once had. In a pragmatic way, of course.

Just then, they were called back into the courtroom. Juniper gave Athena another tight hug, and Franziska tightened her grip on her whip. Laurel gave her a funny look.

“I’ve been hit with plenty of vine whips in my life, so that’s not going to do anything if you intend to use it,” she said. Franziska huffed.

“Why does everyone assume I’m going to whip them?”

“Because you always do,” Phoenix said. Franziska glared at him, but it was more playful than usual as they took their respective benches again. Phoenix called Laurel to the stand, and the trial resumed.


	11. Apollo to the Rescue

**_October 12, 2028_ **

**_11:15am_ **

**_Foxglove Inn_ **

 

When Apollo entered the lobby, Gary was pacing around, an Umbreon staring at him with worried eyes. The young teen looked up and sighed in relief, approaching the attorney. “Thanks for coming. He still haven’t come out.”

“Not yet?” Apollo frowned. “This is worst than I thought…”

“He’s got it in his head that whoever did this was targeting him, that they went specifically to Ash because they couldn’t get to him on Mount Silver.” Gary shook his head. “I told him there’s no evidence that proves that.” 

“So far, nothing points to Red being even relevant to the attack,” Apollo said. “Whoever did it simply wanted to hurt Ash.”

Gary sighed, passing a hand through his hair. “Do you think you can get him out of that bathroom? Taranis and Ivan can’t get him out, and neither can I. ...Well, to be truthful, I… I couldn’t handle hearing him crying his head off.”

“I’ll try,” Apollo said. He couldn’t help noticing Gary’s other hand in a tight fist, though, and his eye twitching almost violently. He seemed worried most of all, but Apollo could tell he was just using that as a distraction...for now, anyway.

He got the room number from Gary and hurried towards that room, hoping Gary wouldn’t explode while he was gone or that the inn staff would keep him from doing anything stupid. Not only could he tell from those twitches, he’d seen that look on Athena’s face more than enough to know what was up.

  
  


**_October 12, 2028_ **

**_11:20am_ **

**_Foxglove Inn- Red’s Room_ **

 

Taranis and Ivan was staring at a different door when Apollo entered the room. “Is he in there?” he asked them both, the two Pokémon nodding, but still staring ahead. He approached the door and knocked on it. “Red? It’s me, Apollo. ...Are you okay in there?”

“...Mr. Justice?” Red’s voice was weak, trembling, just like the other day when Apollo revealed the boy’s tick. “...Shouldn’t you be at court?”

“Mr Wright let me go visit you,” the lawyer explained. “Are you okay?”

“No,” Red said, but opened the door for him anyway. His face was pale and tearstained, and his hand was clutching the bill of his cap like a lifeline. With the way his eyes were bloodshot, it was a bit hard to tell where his irises began and ended.

Red avoided Apollo’s gaze. “Mr. Justice…” He rubbed his eyes. “I’m sorry for worrying you.”

“It’s fine, really.” Apollo sat down on the bed and patted the space beside him. Red didn’t hesitate to join him, burying his face in his hands. “Hey,” Apollo said. “I know, finding something like that out isn’t good, but we’re working on this. It’s...it’s going to be just fine.” He felt like he was back in December of last year, saying that to himself over and over as he tried to investigate Clay’s attempted murder even though he knew he could fall apart any minute.

“I can’t believe someone would actually do this,” Red sobbed. “Ash is… Ash didn’t...” He swallowed. “I’m a bad cousin, aren’t I?”

“What? No...no, why would you even think that?” Of course he knew why, he knew Red felt awful for not seeing Ash for two years, not even writing a letter. Just like Apollo felt any time he went more than a few weeks without writing to Dhurke and Nahyuta.

“If I wasn’t Champion… maybe this wouldn’t have happened,” the youth lamented. “Ash wouldn’t have been attacked and be in the hospital…” He took a shaky breath. “I just… want the world to stop, even for a minute.”

On impulse, Apollo hugged Red tightly, remembering how he’d felt the exact same way when the news broke that Clay was apparently dead. He’d blamed himself, even though he knew he’d had nothing to do with the attack, or that there was nothing he could have done to stop it.

_ And then I shut everyone else out, even snapped at Athena to make her hate me so she wouldn’t worry. But she still did, because she knew I was hurt. At least Red isn’t making the same mistake. _

Red let out a startled yelp when Apollo hugged him. But slowly, the youth’s body relaxed from the comfort of being held. “Thank you, Mr. Justice… Thank you for being there.”

“You don’t have to thank me. You and I, we’re a lot alike,” Apollo sighed. “But Ash is going to be fine. I know it’s hard to believe that right now, but everything’s going to be fine.”

“I know… Gary told me he’s out of his coma. I just… I don’t like waiting.” Red weakly chuckled. “I really need to apologize to Gary… he’s not good when it comes to me stressing out.”

“Oh, Ash is awake? When did that happen?” Ms. Remilia hadn’t said anything about it during the trial, so it had to have happened pretty recently. “And something tells me Gary’s no good when it comes to himself stressing out...I saw him in the lobby. He looked…” He sighed. “Like he wanted to murder someone.”

Red shook his head. “No, Ash isn’t awake yet. I think Mr. Wright told you he’s stable now…?” He then sighed. “Yeah, Gary and stress… not a good mix. Granted, it takes a lot to get him angry in the first place, but…”

“Ah, right.” Apollo sighed. “Guess I’m getting antsy about it, too…” Like he’d been while waiting for Clay to wake up.

“...It feels better now that I talked to you.” The young Champion smiled, albeit crookedly. “I guess I needed an adult to talk to.”

“I’m glad I could help,” Apollo said. “I can stay and hang out for a while, if you-” Just then, the door opened, revealing Gary. He looked like he was hanging onto the last of his self-control by a thread.

“I’ve decided I’ve gotta look for Ash’s attacker myself,” he said, and Apollo felt a chill go through him. The bombing, Clay’s jacket, the bandages, pushing away his family.

“Gary, no.”

“Look, this is just something I have to do! I can’t hunt for evidence, I’m not a detective, and I can’t get them arrested! All I can do is find them and make them regret ever laying a hand on Ash!”

Red sighed deeply. “Ivan, restrain him with Psychic,  _ please _ , before he does something stupid.”

{On it.} Within a few seconds, Gary was held firmly in place, struggling against the psychic grip.

“H-hey! What gives?!”

“You can’t commit vigilante justice,” Apollo said. “And now is the worst time to split from the group. You and Red need each other, Misty needs you, and Ash is going to need you when he wakes up.”

“But…” Gary sighed. “What, you just want me to sit here feeling helpless?”

Red shook his head. “I’m in the same spot, Gary, but you can’t just go off and try to find the one who harmed Ash. What if they harmed you, too?! I have enough with just Ash, I don’t… want you to be hurt, too.” Gary looked about to argue, but instead he just sighed and dug his hands into his pockets.

“I didn’t think of that. Sorry, Red.”

“I have to apologize, too. I didn’t mean to… you know. Shut you away.” Red swung his legs. “I didn’t wanted to stress you further.”

“It’s okay. We’re in this together, along with Brock and Misty and everyone who cares about Ash,” Gary said. “We’ve gotta stick together. No going off and beating up other people, no hiding in the bathroom.”

“If it helps, you might be allowed to get in a hit on the culprits in private once the Wright Anything Agency finds them,” Apollo said. “They’d deserve it.”

Red nodded. “Oh, definitely. I’ll sic Ignatius on them! They’ll discover how hot his Flamethrower really is!” He paused. “Or I’d just kick them in the taint if it’s a guy.”

“Guys, cool it,” Apollo said, even though he knew just how tempted he’d been to do the same to the phantom and to his former boss. “I’m sure everyone would love to get a piece of the culprit, but we may not have a chance.”

“But we can keep fantasizing, can’t we?” Gary said with a grin.

To that, Red cocked an eyebrow. “I hope no one heard that one out of context, Gary.” Gary blinked, then glared playfully at Red.

“Since when are you a pervert?” Apollo rolled his eyes, but couldn’t help snickering. They reminded him of himself and Clay as young teenagers. Or how Klavier would often make innuendo-filled jokes just to troll him, and how hard it was not to enable him by laughing.

“It’s not perverted if it’s a warning! ...I think.” The young Champion scratched the back of his head. “A lot of things can happen in two years, after all.”

“All right, all right.” Gary smiled a little. “But hey, I’m glad to see you’re feeling a little better now.”

Red gave a small smile of his own. “Yeah, I’m glad you two are here. It’s easier having people who cares to support me.”

“There’s only so much talking to Leaf on the phone can do,” Gary said. “I talked to her earlier, by the way, and maybe it was just my imagination, but she almost looked like she was gonna  _ cry _ ...that’s not really like her.”

“Wait, what do you mean, you talked to her earlier?! Why didn’t you get me?!” Red crossed his arms.

“From what I’ve heard about Leaf, she probably  _ asked _ Gary not to get you,” Apollo offered. Gary nodded.

“She didn’t want you to see her cry,” he said. “She knew it might make things worse, since she’s always been the strong one of us four.” Apollo frowned.

“And that’s a lot of pressure to put on someone. I know Leaf probably  _ likes _ being the strong one, but still.”

Red frowned, but nodded. “Yeah, that’s Leaf alright, but still… couldn’t she text me back or something? Or did something happened to her Pokégear?”

“She wants to wait until she calms down,” Gary sighed. Apollo’s frown deepened.

“It’s okay to be weak and upset when things get this bad, you know. And Leaf should know that, too. Red, you should call her, and if she seems vulnerable, don’t make a big deal about it.” Gary raised an eyebrow.

“Let me guess, you’ve had to be the strong one before?”

“More like I was the guy who kept everything in until I exploded. Mr. Wright’s the one who feels like he always has to be strong,” Apollo sighed. Though that was pretty typical for fathers, he remembered Dhurke being the same way.

Red sighed, then walked to his desk, sitting down in front of his laptop setup. “Porygon, dial my sister’s Pokégear. I need to talk to her.”

After two short rings, the Pokégear picked up. “...Hey Red,” Leaf’s voice came out of the laptop speakers. “Any new updates on Ash?”

“No, not at the time, sorry.” He took a deep breath. “How you’re feeling, sis?”

“A lot of things,” she admitted. “Wish I could come to Johto, but the project I’m working on can’t be delayed any longer, so I can’t come over… sorry, bro.”   
  
He shook his head, even though he knew she wouldn’t see it. “Don’t worry about it, Leaf, Ash and I are in good hands, I can assure you of that.”

“That’s what Gary told me,” she noted. “And what about Ash’s Pokémon? Are they in good hands, too?”

“Brock and Mr. Wright’s daughter are taking care of them,” Gary said. Apollo only sat quietly and listened to the conversation, idly thinking of Nahyuta back in Khura’in. Part of him wanted to write him about the situation, but he knew that he and Dhurke likely had their hands full dealing with their growing rebellion.

“Mr. Wright being the lawyer helping Misty out,” Leaf mentioned. “I hope Pikachu’s fine…”

Red rubbed the side of his neck, and Apollo felt a slight squeeze on his wrist. “I hope he is, too. Tary’s worried about him.”

A bit of laughter came out of the speakers. “I keep on forgetting those two are brothers. They seem to be opposites, you know?”

Red tried to hold back his own laughter. “Well, Taranis has a Quirky Nature, Leaf, and you should know a lot about Quirky Pokémon, since your Venusaur is one.”

“Just like Mikeko,” Apollo mused. “Then again, she  _ is _ a cat.”

“Mikeko?” The twins asked, their synchronization a little unexpected for the lawyer.

Red continued on. “What kind of feline Pokémon is she, Mr. Justice?”

“A Skitty,” Apollo said. “Actually, a shiny Skitty. She kinda snuck into my apartment one night while Clay was cooking fish, and neither of us could turn her away. I always wanted a cat Pokemon, anyway.”

“A shiny, wow,” Gary said, clearly impressed. “You lucked into her!”

“Speaking of shinies,” Red began, “Didn’t you met a shiny Darkrai once, Leaf?”

Leaf hummed. “Yeah, one did visit Sinnoh last month and stopped by Celestic Town, where I’m headquartered. Didn’t actually talk to them, though, they seemed to be busy.” Apollo let out a low whistle.

“Shiny mythical Pokemon, that’s pretty amazing! Mythical Pokemon are so hard to meet as it is.”  _ If you were lucky enough to actually meet them _ , Apollo thought, remembering Clay and Jirachi.

Leaf did the same humming noise. “From the sound of things, this particular Darkrai is actually from one of the Ranger regions, but I can’t remember which one. I’ll have to ask one of the Rangers here about them.”

Red snapped his fingers as he swung his chair. “Darkrai is well-known in Sinnoh, right? It’s the one that causes nightmares, right?”

Leaf made a sound of agreement. “However, its ability to cause nightmares is more of a defense mechanism than being actually malicious. The Lunar Wing of a Cresselia is capable of stopping that influence on people.”

“And it probably hates everyone being so afraid of it,” Apollo said.

“Like Mr. Powers, the old star of Steel Samurai,” Gary added. “Y’know, I actually met him once and he’s not that scary-looking! I thought he looked cool!”

“And one of his Pokemon is a Togetic, so you know he’s a good man,” Apollo said.

Red smiled. “Togetic are one of the sweetest Pokémon- he’s a very lucky man to have one.”

Just then, Apollo’s phone went off. Athena was asking how Red was doing.

“He’s better now,” Apollo texted back. “I take it this means the trial’s over for today…” Suddenly, his stomach knotted. Trials typically didn’t end in one day, usually due to new developments or a lack of information.

“It is. Can you come back to the office? Boss wants to talk to us,” Athena texted. Apollo replied the affirmative, then turned to Red and Gary.

“I’ve gotta get going. Mr. Wright needs to talk to me and Athena right away…” He sighed. “I think the trial’s going to run another day. If there’s anything you need to know, we’ll call you right away.”

Red nodded. “Thank you, Mr. Justice. And I’ll update Gary and Leaf if they need to know, too.”

Leaf sighed loudly in her Pokégear. “Let’s hope it’s good news, right Red?”

“Right now, all we can pray is for good news…”

Apollo said goodbye to the three of them and left, sighing deeply.  _ Pray, huh...I wonder what Nahyuta would do at a time like this. Too bad cell phones are too dangerous for them right now or I’d give them a call. _

Oh, well. Once Mr. Wright was finished talking to him and Athena, he’d go home and vent to Clay.


End file.
